Red States Have Higher Murder Rates Than Blue States, According to New Study

States controlled by Republicans have higher murder rates than blue states, according to a new study by Third Way, a center-left public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C.

While Republicans have focused on big-city crime as a crucial midterm election platform, Third Way released a survey of state murder rates from 2020, the latest year available for such statistics.

The study says that the six states with the highest per-capita murder rates all voted for Donald Trump in 2020, as did eight of the top 10 states.

"Mississippi had the highest homicide rate at 20.50 murders per 100,000 residents, followed by Louisiana at 15.79, Kentucky at 14.32, Alabama at 14.2, and Missouri at 14. The national average was 6.5 per 100,000 residents, but the top five states had rates more than twice that high," the survey said.

South Carolina, New Mexico, Georgia, Arkansas, and Tennessee completed the list. New Mexico and Georgia were the only states to vote for Joe Biden, the study said.

"The increase in murders is not a liberal cities problem but a national problem," the survey concluded.

Related Stories