How to Read BJS's Homicide Victimization Report — NIBRS Estimates, Revisions, Weapons and Clearance
BJS 2025 (NIBRS estimates; excl. federal agencies; about 23% of agencies nonreporting): 14,660 homicide victimizations, 4.3 per 100,000 (Table 1), -17% from updated 5.2 in 2024.
Key figures (BJS, Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025)
As of 9 November 2026, 01:29 KST (retrieved by this page at that time); latest listed on the agency page at retrieval: Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 (NCJ 312197), a bulletin of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), U.S. Department of Justice. Report page: Date Published: October 14, 2026; PDF cover: October 2026. Primary source: https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/hvus25.pdf[1][2]
| Indicator (U.S.; homicides known to law enforcement; NIBRS estimates) | Previous: 2024 as published in the 2024 edition [3] | Current: 2025 (2025 edition [1]) | Change vs previous (this page's calculation unless stated) | Change vs year ago: 2024 as updated in the 2025 edition, and change from it | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide victimizations (victims) | 17,420 | 14,660 | -2,760 | 17,720 updated; -3,060 (Appendix table 2) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Rate per 100,000 U.S. residents | 5.1 | 4.3 | -0.8 | 5.2 updated; -17% as printed (Figure 1) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Male victims, rate per 100,000 | 8.0 | 6.6 | -1.4 | updated 2024 value not printed (Table 1) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Black victims (non-Hispanic), rate per 100,000 | 18.3 | 14.6 | -3.7 | updated 2024 value not printed (Table 1) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Victimizations involving a firearm (%) | 77.0% | 75.6% | -1.4 points | 76.6% updated; -1.0 point (Appendix table 7) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Homicide offenses cleared, arrest or exceptional means (%) | 54.8% | 59.5% | +4.7 points | 59.2% updated; +0.3 point (Appendix table 9) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Victimizations cleared through arrest (%) | 49.8% | 54.0% | +4.2 points | updated 2024 value not printed (Table 6) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Offender outside the family but known to the victim (% of victimizations) | 39.6% | 42.1% | +2.5 points | updated 2024 value not printed (Table 2) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
| Eligible agencies not reporting to NIBRS (%) | about 24% | about 23% | about -1 point | not applicable (Methodology) | BJS Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 [1]; 2024 edition [3] for the previous column |
Comparison basis: counts are rounded to the nearest 10 and rates and percentages to one decimal, as printed. The previous column is from the 2024 edition (NCJ 311147), which carries the same page date; the year-ago column gives the 2024 values as updated in the 2025 edition, which include 2024 data sent to the FBI after the original cutoff. Estimates for 2021 onward come from the NIBRS Estimation Program; 2016-2020 values come from the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports.[1][3]
In three lines
1. BJS estimates 14,660 homicide victimizations in 2025, 4.3 per 100,000 residents (Table 1), from police data in NIBRS.
2. That is 17% below the updated 2024 rate of 5.2; the 2024 edition had printed 5.1 (Appendix table 2).
3. Firearms were involved in 75.6% (Table 5); 59.5% of homicide offenses were cleared (Appendix table 9).[1][2]
What the estimates cover
Source and coverage. The 2025 edition's estimates come from police reports in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), weighted for agencies that did not report. "About 77% of law enforcement agencies (N = 15,106) reported at least 1 month of NIBRS data to the FBI in 2025, representing 90% of the U.S. population." "The percentage of eligible law enforcement agencies that were nonreporting agencies was about 23% in 2025." "Estimates in this report do not include data from federal agencies."[1]
What counts as homicide. Homicide means murder and nonnegligent manslaughter. "Other fatalities such as accidental deaths, suicides, and traffic-related are not included." "Attempted murder is coded as aggravated assault in NIBRS." For the earlier years from the Supplementary Homicide Reports, the 2025 edition says: "The analyses presented in this report exclude deaths caused by negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable homicides; attempts to murder; and murders of U.S. residents that occurred outside the United States." "NIBRS and SHR use the same definition for homicide, making these two data sources comparable."[1]
Revisions to the previous year. The 2025 edition's methodology says: "For example, 2024 data that did not make the cutoff date were not included in the original 2024 estimates but were included in the updated 2024 estimates that were published with the original 2025 estimates." "For this reason, prior year estimates will slightly differ from previously published estimates." So the 2024 figures in a 2025 report are updated figures, not the ones first published.[1]
State estimates. Appendix table 1 of the 2025 edition gives counts and rates by state with root mean square errors; Alaska and Pennsylvania are not shown because their estimates did not meet reliability criteria. The District of Columbia's rate (16.7 per 100,000) is listed with the states.[1]
Reading in pairs
Two 2024 rates. The 2024 edition's page says: "The rate of homicide victimization was 5.1 per 100,000 persons." The 2025 edition's page says: "The rate of homicide victimization was 4.3 per 100,000 persons." "This marks a 17% decrease from the rate of 5.2 per 100,000 in 2024." Against the updated 5.2, 4.3 is a 17.3% drop; against the 5.1 first published, it would be a smaller drop (this page's calculations). The 17% printed by BJS uses the updated rate.[2][4]
Clearance for 2024 in two editions. The 2024 edition's Appendix table 9 gives 54.8% of 2024 homicide offenses cleared; the 2025 edition's Appendix table 9 gives 59.2% for 2024. The 2025 edition says prior-year estimates are updated and will differ slightly, but the two reports alone do not establish the detailed cause of this 4.4-point difference.[1][3]
Incidents, offenses and victimizations. The 2025 edition's text says: "In 2025, the percentage of homicide incidents cleared by arrest or exceptional means was 59% (figure 3)." Figure 3 and Appendix table 9 are titled by homicide offenses (59.5%), and Table 6 counts victimizations: "In 2025, 54% of homicide victimizations were cleared through arrest and 41% were not cleared (table 6)." Table 6 adds 5.5% exceptional clearance; the victimization-based sum, 54.0 + 5.5 = 59.5 (this page's calculation), numerically matches the offense-based table, but the report does not explain the relationship between the units. The 2024 edition said: "In 2024, the percentage of homicide incidents cleared by arrest or exceptional means was 55% (figure 3)."[1][3]
Text and tables. The 2025 edition's text gives 76% for firearms against 75.6% in Table 5; rounding may explain that, but the report does not say so. The difference between the text's 59% for clearance and the 59.5% in Appendix table 9 is not explained in the report.[1][3]
Dates and next release
Dates kept apart. Both editions' report pages show Date Published: October 14, 2026, and both PDF covers show October 2026. The 2025 data cover calendar year 2025; prior-year estimates may be updated with later releases, so the 2025 figures may change.[1][2][3][4]
Next release. The report page gives no date for the 2026 edition, so it is not established.[2]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
BJS estimates 14,660 homicide victimizations in the United States in 2025, a rate of 4.3 per 100,000 U.S. residents (Table 1).[1] 1 source · authoritative record
In the 2025 edition, the 2024 homicide estimates were updated to 17,720 victimizations and 5.2 per 100,000 (Appendix table 2).[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The 2024 edition estimated 17,420 homicide victimizations in 2024, a rate of 5.1 per 100,000 (Appendix table 2).[3] 1 source · authoritative record
In 2025, 75.6% of homicide victimizations involved a firearm (Table 5), and 59.5% of homicide offenses were cleared by arrest or exceptional means (Appendix table 9).[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
The 2025 edition's 17% decrease is measured from the updated 2024 rate of 5.2 per 100,000, not from the 5.1 first published in the 2024 edition.[1][3] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · inference from comparing Appendix table 2 of the 2024 and 2025 editions
The share of 2024 homicide offenses cleared is 54.8% in the 2024 edition and 59.2% in the 2025 edition; the two reports alone do not establish the detailed cause of the 4.4-point difference.[1][3] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · inference from comparing Appendix table 9 of the 2024 and 2025 editions
The victimization-based sum in Table 6 (54.0% cleared through arrest plus 5.5% exceptional clearance) also equals 59.5%, numerically matching the offense-based Appendix table 9; the report does not explain the relationship between the units.[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · inference from this page's calculation with Table 6 and Appendix table 9 of the 2025 edition
Timeline
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- Why does the share of 2024 homicide offenses cleared differ between the two editions (54.8% and 59.2%)?
- When will the 2026 edition be published?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 11/09/2026, 01:26
- Body characters
- 7,592
- Sources
- 4 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 11/09/2026, 01:51
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 11/09/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 11/09/2026 | First version. Read in full the 2025 and 2024 editions of BJS's Homicide Victimization in the United States (19 pages each) and their report pages; quotations are complete sentences matched against the source text of the edition named. | Updated |
| 11/09/2026 | Revised after review: only the firearms figure (75.6% to 76%) is given as a possible rounding case, and the text's 59% against the table's 59.5% is described as not explained in the report; the victimization-based clearance sum is described as numerically matching the offense-based table without an explanation of the units; the 4.4-point difference in 2024 clearance is described as not established by the two reports; the state FAQ is limited to published state estimates; the release note says 2025 figures may change with later releases. | Updated |
Frequently asked
How many homicides were there in the United States in 2025?
14,660 homicide victimizations, or 4.3 per 100,000 U.S. residents, per BJS's 2025 edition (Table 1). These are estimates from police data and exclude federal agencies' data.[1]
Is the 2024 homicide rate 5.1 or 5.2 per 100,000?
Both are printed: 5.1 in the 2024 edition and 5.2 in the 2025 edition (Appendix table 2), which updates 2024 with data sent to the FBI after the original cutoff.[1][3]
Are suicides and attempted murders counted?
No: the 2025 edition's NIBRS definitions exclude accidental deaths, suicides and traffic-related fatalities, and code attempted murder as aggravated assault, so none of these are in the 14,660.[1]
What share of homicides involved a gun?
75.6% of homicide victimizations in 2025 (Table 5), down from 79.6% in 2022 (Appendix table 7 of the 2025 edition). For black victims the share was 86.2%.[1]
How many homicides are solved?
59.5% of homicide offenses in 2025 were cleared by arrest or exceptional means (Appendix table 9). By victimization, 54.0% were cleared through arrest and 5.5% by exceptional means (Table 6).[1]
Which state had the highest homicide rate in 2025?
Among published state estimates, Louisiana, at 9.2 per 100,000 (Appendix table 1 of the 2025 edition). Alaska and Pennsylvania are not shown for reliability and so cannot be compared, and the District of Columbia, which is not a state, is 16.7.[1]
When is the next homicide victimization report?
Not established: the 2025 edition's page gives no date for the 2026 edition.[2]
Official links
Sources
- [1] Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 (NCJ 312197), PDF primary
- [2] Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2025 (BJS report page) primary
- [3] Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2024 (NCJ 311147), PDF primary
- [4] Homicide Victimization in the United States, 2024 (BJS report page) primary