Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Indiana?
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 Indiana 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 33 cities in the Hoosier State with over 10,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Indiana? The city with the highest murder rate in Indiana is New Castle with 23 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Indiana with highest number of murders? The city in Indiana with the highest number of murders is Indianapolis with 178 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Indiana ranked. There were ‘only’ 33 cities in Indiana where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 60 places had no murder.
23 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Henry County, Indiana
New Castle is a city in Henry County, Indiana, 44 miles east-northeast of Indianapolis, on the Big Blue River. The city is the county seat of Henry County. New Castle is home to New Castle Fieldhouse, the largest high school gymnasium in the world. The city is surrounded by agricultural land. In the past, it was a manufacturing center for the production of sheet iron and steel, automobiles, caskets, clothing, scales, bridges, pianos, furniture, handles, shovels, lathes, bricks, and flour.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
20 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Marion County, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. It is in the East North Central region of the Midwestern United States. With an estimated population of 855,164 in 2016, Indianapolis is the second most populous city in the Midwest and 15th most populous in the U.S. The city is the economic and cultural center of the Indianapolis metropolitan area, home to 2 million people, the 34th most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. Its combined statistical area ranks 27th, with 2.38 million inhabitants. Indianapolis covers 368 square miles, making it the 16th largest city by land area in the U.S.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Lake County, Indiana
Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the 2010 United States census, it is also the largest in population: the 2010 population was 80,830, replacing Gary as the most populous city in Lake County. From north to south, Hammond runs from Lake Michigan down to the Little Calumet River; from east to west along its southern border, it runs from the Illinois state line to Cline Avenue. The city is traversed by numerous railroads and expressways, including the South Shore Line, Borman Expressway, and Indiana Toll Road.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Marion County, Indiana
Lawrence is a city in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is one of four “excluded cities” in Marion County. The city is home to Fort Benjamin Harrison within Fort Harrison State Park. The population was 46,001 at the 2010 census. The city is also adjacent to the east side of Indianapolis.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Lake County, Indiana
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. It is the home of Marktown, Clayton Mark’s planned worker community.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Allen County, Indiana
Coordinates: 410449.62N 850820.94W 41.0804500; -85.1391500
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Vanderburgh County, Indiana
Evansville is a city in and the county seat of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 117,429 at the 2010 census, making it the state’s third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in Southern Indiana, and the 232nd-most populous city in the United States. It is the commercial, medical, and cultural hub of Southwestern Indiana and the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky tri-state area, home to over 911,000 people. The 38th parallel crosses the north side of the city and is marked on Interstate 69.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Porter County, Indiana
Portage is a city in Portage Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 36,828 as of the 2010 census. It is the largest city in Porter County, and third largest in Northwest Indiana.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Adams County, Indiana
Decatur is a city in Root and Washington townships, Adams County, Indiana, United States. It is the county seat of Adams County. Decatur is home to Adams Memorial Hospital, which was designated as one of the “Top 100” Critical Access Hospitals in the United States. The population of Decatur was 9,405 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Indiana
Located in
Floyd County, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It is bounded by I-265 to the north and the Ohio River to the south, and is considered part of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. The mayor of New Albany is Jeff Gahan, a Democrat; he was re-elected in 2015.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Indiana’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Indiana’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Indiana
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 Indiana for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 33 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 New Castle. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Indiana. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Indiana
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Castle | 17,306 | 4 | 23 |
| 2 | Indianapolis | 890,685 | 178 | 20 |
| 3 | Hammond | 75,677 | 11 | 15 |
| 4 | Lawrence | 49,200 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 | East Chicago | 25,662 | 3 | 12 |
| 6 | Fort Wayne | 271,892 | 30 | 11 |
| 7 | Evansville | 114,660 | 12 | 10 |
| 8 | Portage | 38,700 | 4 | 10 |
| 9 | Decatur | 10,053 | 1 | 10 |
| 10 | New Albany | 37,174 | 3 | 8 |
| 11 | Avon | 25,147 | 2 | 8 |
| 12 | Washington | 12,674 | 1 | 8 |
| 13 | Bedford | 13,872 | 1 | 7 |
| 14 | Speedway | 14,229 | 1 | 7 |
| 15 | Lafayette | 71,374 | 5 | 7 |
| 16 | Beech Grove | 14,335 | 1 | 7 |
| 17 | Michigan City | 31,543 | 2 | 6 |
| 18 | New Haven | 16,098 | 1 | 6 |
| 19 | Vincennes | 16,535 | 1 | 6 |
| 20 | Jasper | 16,806 | 1 | 6 |
| 21 | Logansport | 18,197 | 1 | 5 |
| 22 | Anderson | 55,355 | 3 | 5 |
| 23 | Muncie | 65,072 | 3 | 5 |
| 24 | Jeffersonville | 51,804 | 2 | 4 |
| 25 | Bloomington | 78,762 | 3 | 4 |
| 26 | Terre Haute | 58,536 | 2 | 3 |
| 27 | Kokomo | 59,995 | 2 | 3 |
| 28 | Zionsville | 33,121 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 | South Bend | 103,415 | 3 | 3 |
| 30 | Crown Point | 35,185 | 1 | 3 |
| 31 | Elkhart | 53,357 | 1 | 2 |
| 32 | Greenwood | 67,086 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Fishers | 105,680 | 1 | 1 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 33 Indiana cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Indiana For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Indiana 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 Indiana are New Castle, Indianapolis, Hammond, Lawrence, East Chicago, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Portage, Decatur, and New Albany.
