The murder rate in the United States is at a 125-year low.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 2 contradict1 support4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 45%
Badlands MediaOct 15, 2026
The sources describe the 2025 U.S. murder rate as projected or likely to be the lowest since 1900, but none confirms it because FBI full-year data was not yet released. PolitiFact found it unclear whether the murder rate is at a 125-year low, and the claim's present-tense framing as of 2026-10-15 rests on that unconfirmed projection.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… All you have to do is vote Republican, and you're going to have all of that and more. I just think of what we've accomplished in less than two years' time. We achieved the largest drop in violent crime ever recorded in the history of our country. The murder rate is at the lowest level in 125 years. Before my father was born. He never liked to talk about age, so I don't know if he'd like it, but before my father was born, years since 1900, 125 years, the lowest murder rate. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. PolitiFact said it is unclear whether murder and crime rates are at record lows going back 125 years, and that the 2025 FBI murder rate would likely be a 65-year low.[1][4]
Supports. The Council on Criminal Justice projected that the 2025 homicide rate is on pace to be the lowest recorded since 1900, with a largest single-year percentage drop.[1][3][4]
Context. Detroit News reported that whether the murder rate hit a historic 125-year low cannot be confirmed until the FBI releases its 2025 data, per CCJ's Adam Gelb.[5]
Context. The CCJ's 2026 report found the homicide rate fell about 18% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, though eight cities saw increases.[6]
Context. FactCheck.org and a later fact-check (published after the post date) describe the 125-year low claim as misleading or as relying on a projection, rather than a confirmed FBI record.[2][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 3, 4 not rated
- 1Is Trump right that US crime rate is lowest in 125 years?politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 2FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Conventionfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3US murder rate hits lowest level in 125 years as violence ...nypost.com · tier 3 · cited for: supports
- 4Fact check: Trump says the U.S. crime rate is at its lowest in 125 yearswral.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 5Falling U.S. crime rates predated 2nd Trump termdetroitnews.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6National Homicide Rate Continues to Decline in 2026 ...allsides.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump's false and misleading claims in his State of the Union speechkrgv.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Checked 3 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestCan’t tell
- False
- False
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