Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Wisconsin?
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 Wisconsin 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 32 cities in the Badger State with over 7,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Wisconsin? The city with the highest murder rate in Wisconsin is Milwaukee with 24 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Wisconsin with highest number of murders? The city in Wisconsin with the highest number of murders is Milwaukee with 134 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Wisconsin ranked. There were ‘only’ 32 cities in Wisconsin where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 102 places had no murder.
24 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Washington County, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and the fifth-largest city in the Midwestern United States. The county seat of Milwaukee County, it is on Lake Michigan’s western shore. Ranked by estimated 2014 population, Milwaukee was the 31st largest city in the United States. The city’s estimated population in 2015 was 600,155. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It is also part of the larger Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha combined statistical area, which had an estimated population of 2,026,243 in the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Milwaukee County, WisconsinData | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
13 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Langlade County, WisconsinAntigo is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,234 at the 2010 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactures consist principally of lumber, chairs, furniture, sashes, doors and blinds, hubs and spokes, and other wood products.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Rock County, WisconsinBeloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,966.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Monroe County, WisconsinTomah is a city in Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,093 as of the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by the Town of Tomah and the Town of La Grange. Much of the city’s commercial, retail, and residential development over the last 40 years has occurred in the northern half of the city at a substantial distance from the city’s downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Eau Claire County, WisconsinAltoona is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 6,706 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2014 of 7,155. The city is a railroad terminal on the Union Pacific Railroad.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Fond du Lac County, WisconsinWaupun is a city in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 11,340 at the 2010 census. Of this, 7,864 were in Dodge County, and 3,476 were in Fond du Lac County. In Fond du Lac County, the Town of Waupun abuts the city of Waupun.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Kenosha County, WisconsinPleasant Prairie is a village in Kenosha County, Wisconsin situated between Milwaukee and Chicago. The population was 19,719 at the 2010 census. The neighborhoods of Carol Beach, Dexter’s Corner, Ranney, and Tobin are located within the village.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Wisconsin
Located in
Dane County, WisconsinMiddleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States, and a suburb of the state capital, Madison. Middleton’s motto is “The Good Neighbor City.” The population was 17,442 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Wisconsin’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Wisconsin’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 32 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 Milwaukee. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Wisconsin. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Wisconsin
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee | 560,416 | 134 | 24 |
| 2 | Hales Corners | 7,515 | 1 | 13 |
| 3 | Beloit Town | 7,748 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | Antigo | 7,938 | 1 | 13 |
| 5 | Beloit | 36,231 | 4 | 11 |
| 6 | Tomah | 9,414 | 1 | 11 |
| 7 | Altoona | 9,623 | 1 | 10 |
| 8 | Waupun | 10,873 | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | Pleasant Prairie | 21,981 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | Middleton | 23,353 | 2 | 9 |
| 11 | Whitewater | 15,473 | 1 | 6 |
| 12 | Oshkosh | 65,994 | 4 | 6 |
| 13 | River Falls | 17,171 | 1 | 6 |
| 14 | Marshfield | 18,669 | 1 | 5 |
| 15 | Racine | 76,243 | 4 | 5 |
| 16 | Menomonee Falls | 40,076 | 2 | 5 |
| 17 | South Milwaukee | 20,178 | 1 | 5 |
| 18 | Fond du Lac | 44,164 | 2 | 5 |
| 19 | Janesville | 66,247 | 3 | 5 |
| 20 | Sheboygan | 49,610 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | Stevens Point | 25,784 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 | Superior | 26,310 | 1 | 4 |
| 23 | Kenosha | 97,652 | 3 | 3 |
| 24 | Eau Claire | 70,891 | 2 | 3 |
| 25 | Appleton | 74,394 | 2 | 3 |
| 26 | Sun Prairie | 38,519 | 1 | 3 |
| 27 | Wausau | 39,949 | 1 | 3 |
| 28 | New Berlin | 40,186 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | Madison | 282,045 | 7 | 2 |
| 30 | La Crosse | 50,893 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Green Bay | 105,240 | 2 | 2 |
| 32 | Waukesha | 70,202 | 1 | 1 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 32 Wisconsin cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Wisconsin For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin are Milwaukee, Hales Corners, Beloit Town, Antigo, Beloit, Tomah, Altoona, Waupun, Pleasant Prairie, and Middleton.
