Ranking of states by murder rate (wages, racist, Missouri, Canada)

[tablemtn]

Seems like a lot of debates here either focus on crime, or have crime as a theme. For informational purposes, here is a ranking of states by their 2006 murder rates. Higher rates are bad; lower rates are better. So, you can see which states are 'soft on crime' when it comes to murder, and which ones are not, with a few foreign countries to compare. All rates are per 100,000 people.

1. Louisiana - 9.9

2. Maryland - 9.7

3. Nevada - 9.0

4. Alabama - 8.3

4. South Carolina - 8.3

6. Mississippi - 7.7

7. Arizona - 7.5

8. Arkansas - 7.3

9. Michigan - 7.1

10. California - 6.8

10. New Mexico - 6.8

10. Tennessee - 6.8

13. Georgia - 6.4

14. Missouri - 6.3

15. Florida - 6.2

16. Illinois - 6.1

16. North Carolina - 6.1

18. Pennsylvania - 5.9

18. Texas - 5.9

20. Indiana - 5.8

20. Oklahoma - 5.8

2006 national rate of the US - 5.7

22. Alaska - 5.4

23. Virginia - 5.2

24. Delaware - 4.9

24. New Jersey - 4.9

26. New York - 4.8

27. Ohio - 4.7

28. Kansas - 4.6

29. West Virginia - 4.1

30. Kentucky - 4.0

31. Colorado - 3.3

32. Connecticut - 3.1

33. Washington - 3.0

33. Wisconsin - 3.0

35. Massachusetts - 2.9

36. Nebraska - 2.8

37. Rhode Island - 2.6

38. Idaho - 2.5

39. Minnesota - 2.4

40. Oregon - 2.3

2006 national rate of Canada - 1.9

41. Vermont - 1.9

42. Iowa - 1.8

42. Montana - 1.8

42. Utah - 1.8

45. Maine - 1.7

45. Wyoming - 1.7

47. Hawaii - 1.6

2006 national rate of England and Wales - 1.4

48. North Dakota - 1.3

49. South Dakota - 1.2

50. New Hampshire - 1.0

[Jay F]

I don't think this list gives you any idea which states are soft on crime or tough on crime. Instead it clearly shows there is a correlation between heavily ethnic states and a high murder rate.

Specifically states with a high % of African-Americans and to a somewhat lesser degree states with a high % of Hispanics have the highest murder rates. The states that are 98% white tend to have very low murder rates. The one exception is Hawaii, which is heavily ethnic (mostly Asian) and has one of the lowest murder rates.

Just a disclaimer...I am not racist at all! I like and am friends with people of all races. I am just pointing out a statistical fact which can not be denied.

[Marodi]

Hmm.. i'd expect PA to be higher.

The more urbanized, the more social stratification and super poor, the more crime.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Pennsylvania may look bad to you, but in relation to most other states in The Union, you guys are doing mighty fine.

[tablemtn]

It's still above the national average, though.

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by Marodi

The more urbanized, the more social stratification and super poor, the more crime.

I think in your part of the country, this is true, but it doesn't hold true everywhere.

Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas are all in the top 5, and they are all rural states. My county in SC had the 2nd highest crime rate in the US, and we were not very urbanized.

[tablemtn]

Why doesn't the south focus on law enforcement, and crack down on this violence?

[njkate]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

Why doesn't the south focus on law enforcement, and crack down on this violence?

They may have a hard time recruiting...have you ever seen the wages they offer....

[LordBalfor]

Virtually all of the high murder rate states are "red" states.

So, are the states "red" because they have crime problems?
Or do they have crime problems because of "red" policies?
Or is it purely coincidental?

Ken

[DC at the Ridge]

The source I looked at agreed with your figures except for LA which had 12.4 murders per 100,000. Is there a link to your source? Also, the figures for DC were not included, were they worked into MD and VA figures do you think?

DC