Murders Per Capita By City In Texas For 2026


The cities with the most murder per capita in Texas are Center and Bullard for 2026.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: April 19, 2026

Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Texas?

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 Texas 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 173 cities in the Lone Star State with over 5,000 residents.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

Cities With Highest Murder Rate In Texas Map

Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Texas

  1. Center
  2. Bullard
  3. Sansom Park Village
  4. Brookshire
  5. Jacinto City
  6. Nolanville
  7. Lampasas
  8. Orange
  9. Vernon
  10. Sweetwater

What city has the highest murder rate in Texas? The city with the highest murder rate in Texas is Center with 38.8 murders per 100,000 people.

What is the city in Texas with highest number of murders? The city in Texas with the highest number of murders is Houston with 320 murders.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Texas ranked. There were ‘only’ 173 cities in Texas where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 195 places had no murder.

For more reading on the Lone Star State check out:

The 10 Murder Capitals Of Texas For 2026

1. Center

Center Location In Texas

Center, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,153
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 38.8 (Most)
More on Center: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Bullard

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 5,241
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 38.2 (2nd Most)
More on Bullard: Crime | Movers

3. Sansom Park Village

Source: Public Domain

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 5,282
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 37.9 (3rd Most)
More on Sansom Park Village: Movers

4. Brookshire

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,866
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 34.1 (4th Most)
More on Brookshire: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. Jacinto City

Jacinto City, TX

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 9,154
Murders: 3 (49th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 32.8 (5th Most)
More on Jacinto City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Nolanville

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 7,392
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 27.1 (6th Most)
More on Nolanville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Lampasas

Lampasas Location In Texas

Lampasas, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Travis K. Witt | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 8,045
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.9 (7th Most)
More on Lampasas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Orange

Orange Location In Texas

Orange, TX

Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was Billy Hathorn at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 19,050
Murders: 4 (35th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.0 (8th Most)
More on Orange: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Vernon

Vernon Location In Texas

Vernon, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 9,704
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.6 (9th Most)
More on Vernon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. Sweetwater

Sweetwater Location In Texas

Sweetwater, TX

Source: Wikipedia User CletusDitto | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,180
Murders: 2 (76th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.6 (10th Most)
More on Sweetwater: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Texas

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 Texas for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 173 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 Center. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Texas. We updated the list for 2026.

Most Dangerous Cities In America

Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Texas For 2026

If you’re looking at the places in Texas 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 Texas are Center, Bullard, Sansom Park Village, Brookshire, Jacinto City, Nolanville, Lampasas, Orange, Vernon, and Sweetwater.

For more Texas reading, check out:

Murder Rates By City In Texas

RankCityPopulationMurdersMurders/100K
1Center, TX5153238.81
2Bullard, TX5241238.16
3Sansom Park Village, TX5282237.86
4Brookshire, TX5866234.09
5Jacinto City, TX9154332.77
6Nolanville, TX7392227.06
7Lampasas, TX8045224.86
8Orange, TX19050421.0
9Vernon, TX9704220.61
10Sweetwater, TX10180219.65
11Breckenridge, TX5126119.51
12Gilmer, TX5184119.29
13Giddings, TX5345118.71
14Port Lavaca, TX11112218.0
15Rockdale, TX5676117.62
16Childress, TX5783117.29
17Edna, TX6017116.62
18Webster, TX12094216.54
19Crockett, TX6274115.94
20Gladewater, TX6313115.84
21Bridgeport, TX6719114.88
22Alvarado, TX6729114.86
23Lancaster, TX40486614.82
24Hempstead, TX6921114.45
25Big Spring, TX21249314.12
26Houston, TX231916032013.8
27Jacksonville, TX14552213.74
28Dallas, TX132150218013.62
29Alton, TX22140313.55
30Hidalgo, TX14910213.41
31Beaumont, TX1113201412.58
32Lake Dallas, TX7982112.53
33Humble, TX16076212.44
34Killeen, TX1616672012.37
35Richland Hills, TX8235112.14
36Brownfield, TX8569111.67
37Temple, TX968621111.36
38Graham, TX8853111.3
39Liberty, TX8937111.19
40Hondo, TX8948111.18
41Denison, TX26977311.12
42Pecos, TX9154110.92
43Lake Jackson, TX27644310.85
44Port Arthur, TX55397610.83
45Longview, TX83771910.74
46Brownwood, TX18782210.65
47Aubrey, TX9572110.45
48Alvin, TX29144310.29
49Woodway, TX9768110.24
50La Marque, TX20004210.0
51Raymondville, TX1010019.9
52Angleton, TX2047429.77
53Crowley, TX2049029.76
54Freeport, TX1050619.52
55Kennedale, TX1063519.4
56Bellmead, TX1065719.38
57Stephenville, TX2223129.0
58Wichita Falls, TX10276298.76
59Texas City, TX5813058.6
60Corpus Christi, TX316108278.54
61San Antonio, TX15144581278.39
62Amarillo, TX203039178.37
63El Campo, TX1197218.35
64Marshall, TX2438228.2
65San Juan, TX3681938.15
66Bastrop, TX1238818.07
67Tyler, TX11171498.06
68Levelland, TX1249918.0
69Cleburne, TX3795337.9
70Duncanville, TX3893937.7
71Elgin, TX1327617.53
72Fort Worth, TX997476747.42
73Henderson, TX1353117.39
74Irving, TX257460197.38
75Port Neches, TX1356117.37
76Kilgore, TX1357217.37
77Seabrook, TX1368717.31
78Baytown, TX8363967.17
79Hereford, TX1469616.8
80Tomball, TX1488516.72
81Azle, TX1496116.68
82Austin, TX984613656.6
83South Houston, TX1569616.37
84Mount Pleasant, TX1603816.24
85Nacogdoches, TX3217726.22
86Cedar Hill, TX4891136.13
87Pampa, TX1644516.08
88Huntsville, TX4944636.07
89Groves, TX1659016.03
90Canyon, TX1660916.02
91Lufkin, TX3421825.84
92Greenville, TX3434325.82
93Addison, TX1736715.76
94Galveston, TX5310035.65
95Waco, TX14627085.47
96La Porte, TX3757225.32
97Lubbock, TX269900145.19
98Midland, TX14030374.99
99Universal City, TX2012114.97
100Forney, TX4048424.94
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

 Murder, Rankings