Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Florida?
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 Florida 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 48 cities in the Sunshine State with over 5,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Florida? The city with the highest murder rate in Florida is Belleview with 102 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Florida with highest number of murders? The city in Florida with the highest number of murders is Tampa with 36 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Florida ranked. There were ‘only’ 48 cities in Florida where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 52 places had no murder.
102 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Florida
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
64 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
63 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
DeSoto County, Florida
Arcadia is a city and county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,637 as of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 7,722 in 2014. Arcadia’s Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
41 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Palm Beach County, Florida
Belle Glade is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2011, the city had a population of 17,667.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
36 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Palm Beach County, Florida
Pahokee is a city located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,985 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,459. Culturally, Pahokee is associated with the Florida Heartland, although officially it is a part of South Florida.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
22 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Palm Beach County, Florida
Lake Park is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,721 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 9,080.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
18 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Palm Beach County, Florida
Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, which was incorporated September 29, 1922. Due to the location of its eastern boundary lies, it is also the easternmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. The population was 29,884 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 32,522.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
17 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Miami-Dade County, Florida
South Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, in the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 10,741 at the 2000 census and as of 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 11,932.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Sarasota County, Florida
Sarasota is a city in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is at the southern end of the Tampa Bay Area, north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013 Sarasota had a population of 53,326. In 1986 it became designated as a certified local government. Sarasota is a principal city of the Sarasota metropolitan area, and is the seat of Sarasota County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Florida
Located in
Lake County, Florida
Leesburg is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 15,956 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 19,086. Leesburg is located in central Florida, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the Oklawaha River system. It is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Leesburg is the home of Lake-Sumter State College with campuses also in Clermont, Florida and Sumterville. It is also the home of Beacon College.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Florida’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Florida’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Florida
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 Florida for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 48 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 Belleview. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Florida. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Florida
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belleview | 5,881 | 6 | 102 |
| 2 | Florida City | 12,441 | 8 | 64 |
| 3 | Arcadia | 7,986 | 5 | 63 |
| 4 | Belle Glade | 16,880 | 7 | 41 |
| 5 | Pahokee | 5,567 | 2 | 36 |
| 6 | Lake Park | 8,959 | 2 | 22 |
| 7 | Riviera Beach | 39,021 | 7 | 18 |
| 8 | South Miami | 12,106 | 2 | 17 |
| 9 | Sarasota | 58,432 | 7 | 12 |
| 10 | Leesburg | 33,435 | 4 | 12 |
| 11 | Miami Gardens | 110,466 | 13 | 12 |
| 12 | Lake Worth | 41,324 | 4 | 10 |
| 13 | North Miami Beach | 42,574 | 4 | 9 |
| 14 | Tampa | 408,646 | 36 | 9 |
| 15 | Panama City | 36,646 | 3 | 8 |
| 16 | West Palm Beach | 126,427 | 10 | 8 |
| 17 | Palm Bay | 141,137 | 11 | 8 |
| 18 | Palmetto | 13,662 | 1 | 7 |
| 19 | Ocala | 70,046 | 5 | 7 |
| 20 | Plantation | 98,100 | 7 | 7 |
| 21 | Bradenton | 57,503 | 4 | 7 |
| 22 | St. Petersburg | 264,999 | 18 | 7 |
| 23 | Oldsmar | 14,801 | 1 | 7 |
| 24 | Winter Haven | 59,450 | 4 | 7 |
| 25 | Miami | 460,392 | 28 | 6 |
| 26 | Sanford | 66,900 | 4 | 6 |
| 27 | Pinellas Park | 53,481 | 3 | 6 |
| 28 | Stuart | 20,109 | 1 | 5 |
| 29 | Cocoa | 20,235 | 1 | 5 |
| 30 | Haines City | 41,035 | 2 | 5 |
| 31 | Bartow | 20,948 | 1 | 5 |
| 32 | Gainesville | 147,022 | 7 | 5 |
| 33 | Lynn Haven | 21,152 | 1 | 5 |
| 34 | Auburndale | 21,677 | 1 | 5 |
| 35 | Greenacres City | 44,143 | 2 | 5 |
| 36 | Tarpon Springs | 26,119 | 1 | 4 |
| 37 | Temple Terrace | 27,062 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Boynton Beach | 81,473 | 3 | 4 |
| 39 | Sebastian | 27,445 | 1 | 4 |
| 40 | Wellington | 61,652 | 2 | 3 |
| 41 | Casselberry | 31,166 | 1 | 3 |
| 42 | Coral Springs | 135,157 | 4 | 3 |
| 43 | Delray Beach | 67,780 | 2 | 3 |
| 44 | St. Cloud | 68,966 | 2 | 3 |
| 45 | Kissimmee | 81,967 | 2 | 2 |
| 46 | Cutler Bay | 43,290 | 1 | 2 |
| 47 | Boca Raton | 100,557 | 2 | 2 |
| 48 | Apopka | 60,583 | 1 | 2 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 48 Florida cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Florida For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Florida 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 Florida are Belleview, Florida City, Arcadia, Belle Glade, Pahokee, Lake Park, Riviera Beach, South Miami, Sarasota, and Leesburg.
