The United States is currently experiencing its lowest murder rate since 1900.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 7 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Badlands MediaOct 15, 2026
The FBI's 2025 data put the national murder rate at 4.1 per 100,000, tied with 1955 and 1956 as the lowest since records began in 1900, and CCJ's analysis says the same. Mid-2026 data show the decline continuing, so the claim held as of the October 15, 2026 post date.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… 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. And that's despite the fact that a lot of very bad people were allowed into our country, thanks to a Republican Congress. Many of them are here today, not only from Arizona, but they're coming from other states around, and I love you all. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The FBI's 2025 Uniform Crime Reporting data put the murder rate at 4.1 per 100,000 people, tied with 1955 and 1956 as the lowest rate in the FBI's history, per AP and USA Today.[1][4]
Supports. The Council on Criminal Justice estimated the 2025 homicide level was the lowest since at least 1900, and CBS reported the 2025 rate was likely the lowest since 1900 pending final FBI figures.[3][5]
Supports. The FBI's 2025 murder rate figure was confirmed as the lowest since 1900 by the FBI report itself, as reported by the Canon City Daily Record and nwaonline.[6][7]
Supports. CCJ's midyear 2026 analysis found the homicide rate in the first half of 2026 was 18% lower than the same period in 2025, so the decline continued into the claim's timeframe.[3][8]
Context. The AP headline reads 'lowest rate since 1956,' but the same article says the rate is tied with 1955 and 1956 as the lowest since 1900, so the headline is a shorthand rather than a contradiction.[1]
Context. The record is a 2025 annual figure, and the 'currently' framing rests on 2026 midyear data showing further declines; sources attribute the decline's causes to several overlapping factors and do not dispute the rate.[2][9]
Sources
9 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 2, 6 not rated
- 1US homicide rate hits 75-year low, FBI saysapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Trump's Misleading Crime Drop Claimsfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Murders continue historic decline despite spikes in a few ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4FBI: Nation's murder rates drop to historic lowsusatoday.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Trends in Homicide: What You Need to Know - Council on Criminal Justicecounciloncj.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6FBI: US homicide rate falls 18.1% to lowest since 1956nwaonline.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Homicides dropped 18.1% in 2025 to the lowest rate since 1956, FBI sayscanoncitydailyrecord.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8National Homicide Rate Continues to Decline in 2026 ...allsides.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 9Homicides Are Down. Who Deserves Credit Is the Wrong Questionnewsweek.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The United States has the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years.Mixed
- The U.S. has the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years.Mixed
- The violent crime rate is the lowest it has been in American history.Mixed
- The violent crime rate is the lowest it has been in modern American history.False
- The violent crime rate is at its lowest level in 126 years.Mixed