Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Washington?
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 Washington 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 53 cities in the Evergreen State with over 6,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Washington? The city with the highest murder rate in Washington is Moses Lake with 23 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Washington with highest number of murders? The city in Washington with the highest number of murders is Seattle with 52 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Washington ranked. There were ‘only’ 53 cities in Washington where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 65 places had no murder.
23 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Grant County, Washington
Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 20,366 as of the 2010 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant County, and is part of the Moses Lake-Othello combined statistical area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Yakima County, Washington
Yakima is a U.S. city located about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier in Washington. Yakima is the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state’s eleventh largest city by population. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,067 and a metropolitan population of 243,231. The unincorporated suburban areas of West Valley and Terrace Heights are considered a part of greater Yakima.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Cowlitz County, Washington
Woodland is a city in Clark and Cowlitz counties in the State of Washington. Most residents live within Cowlitz County, in which the majority of the city lies. It is part of the ‘Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area’. The population was 5,509 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Tukwila is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States. The northern edge of Tukwila borders the city of Seattle. The population was 19,107 at the 2010 census. The population was 20,018 at the 2015 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. The City of Tukwila is a community of communities: residents of many diverse origins make Tukwila their home, a large commercial center draws workers and consumers to the city daily, and industry thrives with the confluence of rivers, freeways, railroads, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Douglas County, Washington
East Wenatchee is a city in Douglas County, Washington, United States, as well as a suburb of Wenatchee. The population at the 2010 census was 13,190, a 129.1% increase on the 2000 census. As of April 1, 2016, the Office of Financial Management estimates that the current population is 13,500.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Asotin County, Washington
Clarkston is a city in Asotin County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Lewiston metropolitan area, and is located west of Lewiston, Idaho, across the Snake River.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Yakima County, Washington
Sunnyside is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 15,858.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Pierce County, Washington
Auburn is a city in King County, with a small portion in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 70,180 at the 2010 United States Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area, currently ranked the fourteenth largest city in the state of Washington.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
North Bend is a city in King County, Washington, United States on the outskirts of the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area. The population was 6,739 in a 2016 census estimate.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Washington
Located in
Pierce County, Washington
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Washington’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Washington
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 Washington for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 53 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 Moses Lake. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Washington. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Washington
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moses Lake | 26,624 | 6 | 23 |
| 2 | Yakima | 96,646 | 15 | 16 |
| 3 | Woodland | 6,477 | 1 | 15 |
| 4 | Tukwila | 20,933 | 3 | 14 |
| 5 | East Wenatchee | 14,097 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Clarkston | 7,260 | 1 | 14 |
| 7 | Sunnyside | 16,220 | 2 | 12 |
| 8 | Auburn | 82,838 | 10 | 12 |
| 9 | North Bend | 8,540 | 1 | 12 |
| 10 | Milton | 8,690 | 1 | 12 |
| 11 | Selah | 8,712 | 1 | 11 |
| 12 | Hoquiam | 8,791 | 1 | 11 |
| 13 | West Richland | 19,202 | 2 | 10 |
| 14 | Port Angeles | 20,133 | 2 | 10 |
| 15 | Tacoma | 223,980 | 22 | 10 |
| 16 | Fife | 10,612 | 1 | 9 |
| 17 | Arlington | 21,610 | 2 | 9 |
| 18 | Lynnwood | 45,807 | 4 | 9 |
| 19 | Kelso | 12,620 | 1 | 8 |
| 20 | Olympia | 55,775 | 4 | 7 |
| 21 | Spokane | 229,529 | 16 | 7 |
| 22 | Seattle | 760,058 | 52 | 7 |
| 23 | Lakewood | 61,873 | 4 | 6 |
| 24 | SeaTac | 31,950 | 2 | 6 |
| 25 | Walla Walla | 33,062 | 2 | 6 |
| 26 | Pullman | 33,105 | 2 | 6 |
| 27 | Vancouver | 198,194 | 11 | 6 |
| 28 | Anacortes | 18,123 | 1 | 6 |
| 29 | Ellensburg | 18,472 | 1 | 5 |
| 30 | Everett | 111,276 | 6 | 5 |
| 31 | Kent | 132,324 | 7 | 5 |
| 32 | Centralia | 18,919 | 1 | 5 |
| 33 | Federal Way | 96,631 | 5 | 5 |
| 34 | Renton | 103,762 | 5 | 5 |
| 35 | Covington | 21,216 | 1 | 5 |
| 36 | Bremerton | 46,079 | 2 | 4 |
| 37 | Kenmore | 23,227 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Oak Harbor | 23,817 | 1 | 4 |
| 39 | Burien | 50,318 | 2 | 4 |
| 40 | Kennewick | 85,553 | 3 | 4 |
| 41 | Maple Valley | 28,551 | 1 | 4 |
| 42 | Lacey | 58,872 | 2 | 3 |
| 43 | Des Moines | 31,694 | 1 | 3 |
| 44 | Mount Vernon | 35,244 | 1 | 3 |
| 45 | Longview | 37,944 | 1 | 3 |
| 46 | Puyallup | 41,898 | 1 | 2 |
| 47 | Edmonds | 42,659 | 1 | 2 |
| 48 | Bellingham | 95,717 | 2 | 2 |
| 49 | Shoreline | 62,234 | 1 | 2 |
| 50 | Richland | 64,736 | 1 | 2 |
| 51 | Kirkland | 90,687 | 1 | 1 |
| 52 | Spokane Valley | 109,852 | 1 | 1 |
| 53 | Bellevue | 151,520 | 1 | 1 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 53 Washington cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Washington For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Washington 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 Washington are Moses Lake, Yakima, Woodland, Tukwila, East Wenatchee, Clarkston, Sunnyside, Auburn, North Bend, and Milton.
