How Many Murders Go Unsolved (Startling Percentages You Won’t Believe)

How many murders go unsolved each year in the US?

In this article, you’ll learn about:

the average number of murders and unsolved murders each year
what states have the highest and least amount of murders
which states have the highest murder rates
what state has the most unsolved murders
which political party’s states have the higher number of murders

Let’s dig in.

The Hive Law Has Been Featured In

What Percent Of Murders Go Unsolved

There are 254,379 unresolved murders from the past 40 years.
On average, 6,276 murders go unsolved every year in the US.
On average, there are 18,340 murders each year in the US.
More than 1 in 3 murders (39.82%) go unsolved.
The national clearance rate for homicide victims is 66.11%.
Wyoming has the least amount of unresolved murder cases at 14.1%.
Illinois has the largest amount of unresolved murders at 64%.
California has the highest number of homicides in the US at 128,787 per year.
3 of the 5 states with the highest murder rates are Democrat states.
Of the states with the highest murder rates, Democrat states have 55.8% of the murders.
Mississippi has the highest death rate at 20.5 per 100,000 people.
The south has the highest murder rates in the country.

How Many Murders Go Unsolved?

On average, 6,276 murders go unsolved every year in the US.

The national average number of murders in the US each year is 15,773.

The average number of murders solved each year is 9,497.

So, on average, 39.82% of murders go unsolved each year in the US.

There are 254,379 unresolved murders from the past 40 years.

Year	Homicides	# Solved	% Solved	# Unsolved	% Unsolved
2021	14,715	7,542	51.3%	7,173	48.7%
2020	20,221	10,374	51.3%	9,847	48.7%
2019	15,449	8,905	57.6%	6,544	42.4%
2018	15,877	9,340	58.8%	6,537	41.2%
2017	17,004	9,850	57.9%	7,154	42.1%
2016	16,891	9,382	55.5%	7,509	44.5%
2015	15,594	9,141	58.6%	6,453	41.4%
2014	13,923	8,510	61.1%	5,413	38.9%
2013	14,103	8,614	61.1%	5,489	38.9%
2012	14,822	8,366	56.4%	6,456	43.6%
2011	14,551	8,388	57.6%	6,163	42.4%
2010	14,577	8,419	57.8%	6,158	42.2%
2009	15,166	8,950	59.0%	6,216	41.0%
2008	16,272	10,414	64.0%	5,858	36.0%
2007	16,929	10,327	61.0%	6,602	39.0%
2006	17,030	10,388	61.0%	6,642	39.0%
2005	16,740	10,379	62.0%	6,361	38.0%
2004	16,148	10,173	63.0%	5,975	37.0%
2003	16,528	10,247	62.0%	6,281	38.0%
2002	16,229	10,387	64.0%	5,842	36.0%
2001	16,037	9,943	62.0%	6,094	38.0%
2000	15,586	9,819	63.0%	5,767	37.0%
1999	15,522	10,710	69.0%	4,812	31.0%
1998	16,974	11,712	69.0%	5,262	31.0%
1997	18,208	12,017	66.0%	6,191	34.0%
1996	19,645	13,162	67.0%	6,483	33.0%
1995	21,606	14,044	65.0%	7,562	35.0%
1994	23,326	14,929	64.0%	8,397	36.0%
1993	24,526	16,187	66.0%	8,339	34.0%
1992	23,760	15,444	65.0%	8,316	35.0%
1991	24,703	16,387	66.3%	8,316	33.7%
1990	23,438	15,703	67.0%	7,735	33.0%
1989	21,500	14,620	68.0%	6,880	32.0%
1988	20,675	14,472	70.0%	6,203	30.0%
1987	20,096	14,067	70.0%	6,029	30.0%
1986	20,613	15,300	74.2%	5,313	25.8%
1985	18,976	13,663	72.0%	5,313	28.0%
1984	18,692	13,832	74.0%	4,860	26.0%
1983	19,308	14,674	76.0%	4,634	24.0%
1982	21,010	15,547	74.0%	5,463	26.0%
1981	22,520	16,214	72.0%	6,306	28.0%
1980	23,040	16,589	72.0%	6,451	28.0%
Average	18,340	11,980	64.75%	6,359	35.25%

How Many Unsolved Murders Are In The US?

Over the past 40 years, there have been 321,094 unsolved murders in the US.

The number of unsolved murders increases every year.

In 1980, there were 28% unsolved murders in the US.

Today, there are about 42.36% unsolved murders each year in the US.

The number of unsolved murders per year has increased by 151% over the past 40 years.

What Percentage Of Murders Are Solved?

The percentage of murders solved is 66.11%.

This data looks at data for each state over the past 40 years.

This FBI data shows that the total number of murders is 947,521.

That’s how many murder cases there have been in the US over the past 40 years.

Of those 947,521 murder cases, 626,427 are solved.

So, the “murder clearance rate” is 66.11%.

Unsolved Homicide Statistics

Let’s look at some other data related to how many murders go unsolved.

Which State Has The Most Murders?

The states with the highest murder rates are:

California – 128,787
Texas – 86,484
New York – 77,534
Florida – 55,895
Illinois – 49,026

Which State Has The Least Murders

The states with the lowest murder rates are:

Wyoming – 972
New Hampshire – 946
South Dakota – 773
Vermont – 524
North Dakota – 508

Highest Murder Rate In The US

The states with the highest murder rates in the US are:

Mississippi – 20.5
Louisiana – 19.9
Alabama – 14.2
Missouri – 14
Arkansas – 14

These murder rates are the number of people murdered out of 100,000 people.

Number Of Unsolved Murders 2020

48.7% of murders went unsolved in 2020.

There were 20,221 murder cases in 2020.

Of those 20,221 homicide cases, only 10,374 were solved.

This means that 9,847 (48.7%) murders were unsolved in 2020.

Read More: What Is Aggravated Manslaughter?

What’s The FBI Conviction Rate?

The FBI conviction rate for violent crimes is 16%.

The local police officer conviction rate is 4%.

The FBI conviction rate for homicides is 4x that of local police departments.

This is because the FBI has better resources for solving murder cases than law enforcement.

What State Has The Most Unsolved Murders?

California is the state with the most unsolved murders.

California has 48,830 unsolved murders per year, on average.

Their unsolved murder rate averages 37.9%.

But, Illinois has the highest unsolved murder rate at 64%.

Even though they have 31,376 unsolved murders per year.

How Many Murders Go Unsolved In Chicago?

Chicago averages 595 murders per year.

Of those, 380 murders per year go unsolved in Chicago.

64% of murders go unsolved in Chicago each year.

Chicago solves 36% of its murders each year.

How Many Cold Cases Are There In The US?

There are 321,094 cold cases in the US.

Over the past 40 years, there have been 321,094 unsolved murders in the US.

On average, 6,276 murders go unsolved every year in the US.

So, the number of cold cases increases each year by 6,300, on average.

How Common Is Murder?

There are 5.5 murders for every 100,000 people in the US.

Murder is not very common in the US.

For reference, the:

marriage rate in the US is 610 people out of every 100,000 people per year
divorce rate in the US is 260 people out of every 100,000 people per year
abortion rate in the US is 1,140 people out of every 100,000 people per year
infidelity rate in the US is 16,000 people out of every 100,000 people per year

The Data On How Many Murders Go Unsolved

The crime data for this study on how many murders go unsolved comes from:

Murder Accountability Project
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report

Homicide detectives at local law enforcement agencies have to report this crime data.

The criminal justice system keeps data on:

the number of homicide cases each year
the homicide clearance rates each year
the caseloads of law enforcement agencies for homicides

These unsolved homicide statistics show us exactly how many murders go unsolved each year.