Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Alabama?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Alabama with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 44 cities in the Heart of Dixie with over 5,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Alabama? The city with the highest murder rate in Alabama is Prichard with 59 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Alabama with highest number of murders? The city in Alabama with the highest number of murders is Birmingham with 115 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Alabama ranked. There were ‘only’ 44 cities in Alabama where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 53 places had no murder.
59 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Mobile County, Alabama
Prichard is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
59 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Shelby County, Alabama
Birmingham is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County. The city’s population was 212,237 in the 2010 United States Census. In the 2010 US Census, the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of about 1,128,047, which is approximately one-quarter of Alabama’s population.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
57 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Barbour County, Alabama
Eufaula is the largest city in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census the city’s population was 13,137.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
48 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Escambia County, Alabama
Atmore is a city in Escambia County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1907. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 10,194, with an estimated population of 10,006 in 2014. Atmore is in the planning stages to increase its economic base with additions in its new Rivercane development along the I-65 corridor.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
47 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Macon County, Alabama
Tuskegee is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1833 by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, and made the county seat that year. It was incorporated in 1843. It is also the largest city in Macon County. At the 2010 census the population was 9,865, down from 11,846 in 2000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
44 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Jefferson County, Alabama
Bessemer is a city southwest of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, 8 miles west of Hoover. The population was 27,456 at the 2010 Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
32 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Colbert County, Alabama
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
28 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Alabama
Alexander City, known to locals as “Alex City”, is a city in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States, with a population of some 14,875. It is known for Lake Martin with its 750 miles of wooded shoreline and 44,000 acres of water. Lake Martin stands on the Tallapoosa River and offers boating, swimming, fishing, golfing, and camping. Many neighborhoods and luxury homes are located on the lake.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
25 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Jefferson County, Alabama
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
24 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Alabama
Located in
Baldwin County, Alabama
Bay Minette is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 8,044. The city is the county seat of Baldwin County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Alabama’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Alabama’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Alabama
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Alabama for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 44 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Prichard. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Alabama. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Alabama
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prichard | 18,672 | 11 | 59 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 195,418 | 115 | 59 |
| 3 | Eufaula | 12,314 | 7 | 57 |
| 4 | Atmore | 8,294 | 4 | 48 |
| 5 | Tuskegee | 8,582 | 4 | 47 |
| 6 | Bessemer | 24,720 | 11 | 44 |
| 7 | Sheffield | 9,280 | 3 | 32 |
| 8 | Alexander City | 14,353 | 4 | 28 |
| 9 | Hueytown | 16,013 | 4 | 25 |
| 10 | Bay Minette | 8,456 | 2 | 24 |
| 11 | Loxley | 5,007 | 1 | 20 |
| 12 | Anniston | 21,052 | 4 | 19 |
| 13 | Springville | 5,381 | 1 | 19 |
| 14 | Montgomery | 193,728 | 35 | 18 |
| 15 | Mobile | 237,092 | 39 | 16 |
| 16 | Semmes | 6,105 | 1 | 16 |
| 17 | Leeds | 12,445 | 2 | 16 |
| 18 | Chickasaw | 6,226 | 1 | 16 |
| 19 | Tuscaloosa | 113,834 | 18 | 16 |
| 20 | Lanett | 6,691 | 1 | 15 |
| 21 | Demopolis | 6,733 | 1 | 15 |
| 22 | Cullman | 20,433 | 3 | 15 |
| 23 | Hamilton | 6,963 | 1 | 14 |
| 24 | Ozark | 14,350 | 2 | 14 |
| 25 | Talladega | 14,590 | 2 | 14 |
| 26 | Montevallo | 7,877 | 1 | 13 |
| 27 | Selma | 16,299 | 2 | 12 |
| 28 | Gadsden | 33,015 | 4 | 12 |
| 29 | Troy | 17,894 | 2 | 11 |
| 30 | Russellville | 10,679 | 1 | 9 |
| 31 | Spanish Fort | 11,199 | 1 | 9 |
| 32 | Opelika | 34,448 | 3 | 9 |
| 33 | Decatur | 58,514 | 5 | 9 |
| 34 | Huntsville | 228,697 | 19 | 8 |
| 35 | Sylacauga | 12,109 | 1 | 8 |
| 36 | Phenix City | 38,323 | 3 | 8 |
| 37 | Moody | 13,720 | 1 | 7 |
| 38 | Dothan | 71,318 | 5 | 7 |
| 39 | Athens | 32,862 | 2 | 6 |
| 40 | Albertville | 23,242 | 1 | 4 |
| 41 | Foley | 26,424 | 1 | 4 |
| 42 | Enterprise | 30,766 | 1 | 3 |
| 43 | Hoover | 92,352 | 3 | 3 |
| 44 | Madison | 62,087 | 2 | 3 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 44 Alabama cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Alabama For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Alabama with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Alabama are Prichard, Birmingham, Eufaula, Atmore, Tuskegee, Bessemer, Sheffield, Alexander City, Hueytown, and Bay Minette.
