For Release: Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Violence Policy Center annual report examines the latest national homicide data and finds that more than 84% of Black homicide victims were killed by guns
Washington, DC — Black Americans accounted for more than half (52.2%) of all homicide victims in the United States while comprising only 13.7% of the population, according to the 20th edition of the Violence Policy Center’s (VPC) annual report Black Homicide Victimization in the United States.
Using the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the report found that in 2024 there were 10,533 Black homicide victims in the United States. The Black homicide victimization rate of 22.4 per 100,000 was more than 3.5 times the overall U.S. homicide rate and 6.4 times the white homicide victimization rate. Eight out of 10 of Black homicide victims were killed with guns.
In addition to national data, the report also ranks the states according to their Black homicide victimization rates and offers additional information for each of the 10 states with the highest rates. The states with the highest Black homicide victimization rates in 2024 were: Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois (tie), Wisconsin (tie), Tennessee, Louisiana, Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, and Arkansas. All had Black homicide victimization rates higher than the national rate (see table below). For the 18th year in a row, Missouri’s Black homicide victimization rate ranked either first or second in the nation.
Number of Black homicide victims and rates by state in 2024, ranked by rate
| Ranking | State | Number of homicide deaths | Homicide rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri | 353 | 48.3 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 449 | 41.0 |
| 3 (tie) | Illinois | 708 | 38.6 |
| 3 (tie) | Wisconsin | 157 | 38.6 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 435 | 36.2 |
| 6 | Louisiana | 523 | 35.3 |
| 7 | Indiana | 263 | 35.0 |
| 8 | Alabama | 466 | 34.4 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 144 | 33.0 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 148 | 30.5 |
“Black Americans continue to bear a profoundly disproportionate and deeply distressing share of our nation’s ongoing homicide epidemic,” said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center. “The role played by firearms year after year in fueling this public health crisis is undeniable and a national shame.”
The report also found that homicide remained the leading cause of death for Black Americans ages 10 to 24. Of the 10,533 Black homicide victims, 85.3% were male and 14.7% were female.
Among the report’s additional findings:
- Nearly 60% of all gun homicide victims nationwide were Black.
- 1,095 Black homicide victims were younger than 18 years old.
- Black homicide victims were more likely to be killed with firearms compared to their white counterparts: 86.1% of Black male victims were killed with guns compared to 71.2% of white male victims while 74.2% of Black female victims were killed with guns compared to 58.2% of white female victims.
- The homicide rate for Black female victims was more than 2.5 times the overall rate for female homicide victims and more than 3.5 times the rate for white female homicide victims.
- For homicides in which the relationship or circumstances could be identified, 77% of Black victims were killed by someone they knew, 80.9% were not related to the commission of any other felony and of these 56.1% involved arguments between the victim and the offender.
The report concludes, “For Black victims of homicide, like all victims of homicide, guns are far and away the number-one murder tool. Successful efforts to reduce America’s Black homicide toll, like America’s homicide toll as a whole, must put a focus on reducing access and exposure to firearms.”
The full report is available here. Prior editions of the report can be found here.
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The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.