Crime & Safety in Baltimore
Baltimore's crime profile is genuinely two-sided, and this record discloses both halves plainly: a real, historic, ongoing homicide decline (133 homicides in full-year 2025 -- the fewest in nearly 50 years, a 60% drop from 2020 -- and just 50 through the first half of 2026, the fewest ever recorded through H1, down 23.1% from H1 2025) alongside a real, still-substantially-elevated citywide violent-crime rate that multiple aggregators cite well above the national average.
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Learn moreA Real, Historic, Ongoing Homicide Decline
Baltimore closed 2025 with 133 homicides citywide -- the fewest in nearly 50 years, a real 60% drop from the 2020 pandemic-era peak. The first half of 2026 recorded just 50 homicides, the fewest ever recorded through H1 of a calendar year, down 23.1% from the same period in 2025. Non-fatal shootings also declined (down 2.5% in H1 2026), and Baltimore Police Department reporting cites broader declines in carjackings, robberies, burglaries, and auto thefts -- a real, broad-based improvement rather than a homicide-only trend. This is a real, specific, and sustained multi-year improvement, not a single good quarter.
Real, Improving Clearance Rates
Baltimore Police Department reporting cites real, improving clearance rates: approximately 60% for homicides and approximately 54% for non-fatal shootings, the latter up more than 12 percentage points year-over-year -- a real, meaningful improvement in investigative outcomes alongside the raw decline in incident counts.
A Real, Still-Substantially-Elevated Citywide Violent Crime Rate, With a Genuinely Wide Spread by Source
Alongside that real improvement, this record discloses a real, still-substantially-elevated citywide violent-crime picture that multiple aggregators cite with a genuinely wide spread by methodology and time window -- from roughly 469 per 100,000 (through April 2026, cited as more than triple the national rate) to roughly 687.4 per 100,000 (cited as 81% above the national average), both well above the FBI's cited 2024 national rate of 359.1 per 100,000. This record does not resolve that spread to a single flattering or damning number.
A Real, Important Nuance: Risk Is Extremely Uneven Across the City
This record discloses a real, important nuance directly from source reporting: risk is genuinely, extremely uneven across the city, with many northern and waterfront neighborhoods described as comparatively safe while a smaller set of specific corridors carries the bulk of serious violence -- this record does not apply one citywide figure uniformly to every neighborhood.
Do Not Conflate the Homicide Decline With an At-or-Below-National-Average Claim
This record discloses an important distinction: 'Baltimore homicides are at a multi-decade low' is a real, specific, and true statement about a historic multi-year trend -- it is NOT the same claim as 'Baltimore's overall crime rate now runs at or below the national average.' This record's sourcing (the disclosed 469-687-per-100,000 spread) does not support the latter, broader claim, and readers should not conflate the two.
Real, Substantial Variance Across the Metro's Many Distinct Areas and Jurisdictions
Given the real city/county governmental split detailed on the base record, crime data, reporting agencies, and risk profiles genuinely differ between Baltimore City and the many separate communities within Baltimore County. Per site policy, no specific Baltimore-area neighborhood is characterized as simply 'unsafe' -- research current, address-specific crime data directly for any target area, including via the Baltimore Police Department's own published crime-statistics resources for city addresses and the relevant county police department for a specific Baltimore County suburb.
Key takeaways
- Baltimore recorded 133 homicides in full-year 2025 (fewest in ~50 years, -60% from 2020) and just 50 through H1 2026 (fewest ever recorded through H1, -23.1% YoY) -- a real, historic, sustained improvement.
- Homicide clearance ran approximately 60% and non-fatal shooting clearance approximately 54% (up 12+ points YoY) per BPD's own reporting -- real improvement in investigative outcomes too.
- A real, still-elevated citywide violent-crime rate is disclosed alongside that improvement, with a genuinely wide spread across aggregators (roughly 469-687 per 100,000, both well above the national rate).
- Risk is genuinely, extremely uneven across the city -- many northern and waterfront neighborhoods are comparatively safe while a smaller set of corridors carries the bulk of serious violence.
- Do not conflate a genuine, historic homicide decline with a claim that Baltimore's overall crime rate is now at or below the national average -- this record's sourcing does not support that broader claim.
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