Philadelphia recorded 222 homicides in 2025 — the city’s lowest annual total since 1966. That follows 269 in 2024 and 410 in 2023, and marks the end of a four-year decline from the record 562 killings in 2021. Through 29 August 2026 the city has recorded 119 homicides, down about 21% on the same period last year.
Murders in Philadelphia by Year, 2007–2025
These are full-year totals published by the Philadelphia Police Department, covering 1 January to 31 December in each year.
| Year | Homicides | Change on prior year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 222 | −17.5% |
| 2024 | 269 | −34.4% |
| 2023 | 410 | −20.5% |
| 2022 | 516 | −8.2% |
| 2021 | 562 | +12.6% — record high |
| 2020 | 499 | +40.2% |
| 2019 | 356 | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 353 | +12.1% |
| 2017 | 315 | +13.7% |
| 2016 | 277 | −1.1% |
| 2015 | 280 | +12.4% |
| 2014 | 249 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 247 | −25.4% |
| 2012 | 331 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 326 | +6.5% |
| 2010 | 306 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 302 | −8.8% |
| 2008 | 331 | −15.3% |
| 2007 | 391 | — |
The 2021 Peak and the Decline Since
2021 was the deadliest year in Philadelphia’s recorded history, with 562 homicides. The rise was steep and recent: the city had recorded 356 in 2019, then jumped 40% in 2020 and a further 13% in 2021.
The fall since has been just as sharp. The 2023-to-2024 drop of roughly 34% was, according to Pew Charitable Trusts research, the largest single-year homicide decline in Philadelphia in 60 years. By 2025 the total had fallen to 222 — the lowest since 1966, and 60% below the 2021 peak.
Where 2026 Stands So Far
As of 29 August 2026, Philadelphia had recorded 119 homicides, against 150 by the same date in 2025 — a decline of about 21%. If that pace holds, 2026 would finish below 2025 and set another modern low. Part-year figures are volatile, though, and a single violent month can change the trajectory.
What Changed Between 2020 and 2025
No single factor explains a swing of this size, and researchers are still arguing about the weighting. The changes most often cited are the pandemic disruption of schooling, employment and community programmes from 2020; a surge in firearm purchases and carrying; the subsequent restoration of those services; targeted focus on the small number of people and blocks that account for a disproportionate share of shootings; and expanded community violence intervention funding.
What the numbers do show clearly is that the rise and the fall both happened faster than structural explanations alone would predict. Philadelphia went from 356 homicides to 562 in two years, and back to 222 in four.
How to Read These Numbers
- Counts, not rates. These are absolute totals. Philadelphia’s population has shifted over the period, so per-capita rates move slightly differently from raw counts.
- Figures get revised. Deaths later reclassified as homicide, or reclassified out of it, change historical totals. Small differences between sources usually reflect the date each was pulled.
- Homicide is not all violent crime. It is the most reliably counted category, which is why it is used as a bellwether — but shootings, robberies and assaults do not always move in the same direction.
- City totals hide neighbourhood variation. Homicide in Philadelphia is heavily concentrated in a minority of police districts; a citywide decline does not mean an even decline.
Where the Data Comes From
The Philadelphia Police Department publishes current and historical homicide counts on its crime statistics page, updated through the current year to date. Incident-level data, including location and date, is available through OpenDataPhilly. For analysis of the longer trend, Pew’s Philadelphia research tracks homicide alongside other city indicators.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many murders were there in Philadelphia in 2025?
222 — the lowest annual total recorded in Philadelphia since 1966, according to Philadelphia Police Department figures.
What was Philadelphia’s worst year for homicides?
2021, with 562 homicides — the highest figure in the city’s recorded history.
Is crime going up or down in Philadelphia?
Homicide has fallen every year since 2021, from 562 to 222 in 2025, and 2026 is running about 21% below 2025 so far. That is one category of crime, not all of them.
How many homicides has Philadelphia had in 2026?
119 as of 29 August 2026, compared with 150 at the same point in 2025. The police department updates this figure through the year.
Sources & Further Reading
- Philadelphia Police Department — Crime Statistics
- Pew Charitable Trusts — Philadelphia’s Homicides at Historic Lows
- OpenDataPhilly — Crime Incidents dataset
Figures current to 29 August 2026. We update this page when the police department publishes revised totals.
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