For those Americans who live in murder hot spots inside of the United States, life may seem like a daily reenactment of the O.K. Corral shootout. But surprising as it may be, the bulk of the nation is relatively safe from such violence.

The US breathed a huge sigh of relief as the FIFA World Cup visited eleven American cities without any serious acts of violence or murder. But perhaps that should come as no surprise as murder rates in the country have been tumbling for decades, while most of the killing is occurring in a tiny swath of the country. In fact, America is currently enjoying its lowest murder rates – just under four murders out of 100,000 per annum – since national recordkeeping began in 1900 (by comparison, the US murder rate is about 70% higher than Canada’s 1.91 per 100,000 people in 2024 and Australia’s approximately 2 per 100,000.)

Many people get the impression that the gun-loving US is one large shooting gallery from coast to coast. And while it is certainly true that the country ranks higher than its peers in murder fatalities, the actual reality is not as bad as initially believed. First of all, as already mentioned, murders have been on a steady decline for the last several years. The numbers have gone from roughly 21,846 in 2022 to 19,677 in 2023, and about 16,924 in 2024. Second, murders are largely concentrated within a small number of urban neighborhoods, concrete islands of brutal violence.........

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