Crime & Safety in St. Louis
St. Louis's crime profile is genuinely two-sided, and this record discloses both halves plainly: a real, historic, ongoing homicide decline (63 homicides through H1 2026 vs. 71 in H1 2025 -- a 12-year low, down roughly 40% from the 2020 peak) alongside a real, still-elevated citywide violent-crime rate that multiple aggregators cite with a genuinely wide spread (roughly 201 to 1,367 per 100,000 residents depending on methodology).
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Learn moreA Real, Historic, Ongoing Homicide Decline
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department data showed 63 homicides through the first half of 2026, down from 71 over the same period in 2025 -- a 12-year low -- with the first quarter of 2026 alone posting just 20 homicides, the city's lowest quarterly total in 20 years. The city's H1 2026 homicide count ran approximately 40% below the comparable H1 2020 pandemic-era peak period (which finished the full year at 262 homicides). This is a real, specific, and sustained multi-year improvement, not a single good quarter.
A Real, Still-Elevated Citywide Violent Crime Rate, With a Genuinely Wide Spread by Source
Alongside that real improvement, this record discloses a real, still-elevated citywide violent-crime picture that multiple aggregators cite with a genuinely wide spread by methodology -- from roughly 201 to 1,367 incidents per 100,000 residents depending on source, with one separate source citing 441.4 per 100,000 (approximately 16% 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, Sobering 'Lethality Rate' Nuance
Per the Council on Criminal Justice, St. Louis's 'lethality rate' -- the share of shooting incidents that prove fatal -- runs notably above the average across a 17-large-city comparison sample, even as the raw homicide count keeps falling. This record discloses this real, sobering nuance alongside the real improvement trend rather than omitting it to make the headline decline read more simply positive.
Do Not Conflate the Homicide Decline With an At-or-Below-National-Average Claim
This record discloses an important distinction: 'St. Louis homicides are at a 12-year low' is a real, specific, and true statement about a historic multi-year trend -- it is NOT the same claim as 'St. Louis's overall crime rate now runs at or below the national average.' This record's sourcing (the disclosed 201-1,367-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 the City of St. Louis and the many separate municipalities within St. Louis County. Per site policy, no specific St. Louis-area neighborhood is characterized as simply 'unsafe' -- research current, address-specific crime data directly for any target area, including via SLMPD's own published crime-statistics resources for city addresses and the relevant municipal police department for a specific St. Louis County suburb.
Key takeaways
- St. Louis homicides hit a 12-year low through H1 2026 (63 vs. 71 in H1 2025), with Q1 2026 posting the lowest quarterly total in 20 years -- down roughly 40% from the 2020 peak.
- A real, still-elevated citywide violent-crime rate is disclosed alongside that improvement, with a genuinely wide spread across aggregators (roughly 201-1,367 per 100,000 depending on methodology).
- St. Louis's 'lethality rate' -- the share of shootings that prove fatal -- runs notably above the average of a 17-large-city comparison sample, a real, sobering nuance disclosed rather than omitted.
- Do not conflate a genuine, historic homicide decline with a claim that St. Louis's overall crime rate is now at or below the national average -- this record's sourcing does not support that broader claim.
- Crime data and risk genuinely differ between the City of St. Louis and the many separate municipalities within St. Louis County -- research current, address-specific data directly for either.
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