Seattle ranked 29th in homicide increase during pandemic

(The Center Square) – Seattle ranked No. 29 out of the 50 largest U.S. cities in terms of increased homicides throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released Wednesday by personal finance website WalletHub.

Between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2022 – the timeframe examined in the study – homicide rates rose by an average of 17% in the nation’s 50 most populous municipalities, according to WalletHub.

The Emerald City saw 1.75 homicide cases per 100,0000 residents in the first quarter of 2022.

While not good news for Seattle, it certainly wasn’t as bad as it could have been, according to WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez.

“Seattle ranks below average in terms of the increase in homicide rates during Covid, at number 29,” she explained in an email to The Center Square. “This is mainly because it has less than two homicides per capita registered in the first quarter of 2022, one of the smallest numbers in the country.”

Gonzalez went on to note, “The city also had a very small increase in homicide cases compared to the first quarters of 2021 and 2020.”

Seattle saw small increases in its per capita homicide rate between the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 (0.67), and between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2022 (0.54).

Gonzalez’s take on Seattle’s violent crime rate was similar to recent comments by Jackie Helfgott, a professor and director at Seattle University’s Crime & Justice Research Center.

Helfgott pointed out that while crime is high in the state’s largest city – and the Seattle Police Department is dealing with a historic drop in staffing levels – it’s not the worst the city has seen.

“We’re not at a peak,” Helfgott told KING 5 last month. “It takes years to see a trend line occurring to see if we’re steady on the rise. We don’t have a good understanding yet of the nature of types of violent crimes to understand exactly what is contributing to that.”

The top 10 cities in terms of homicide rate increase during COVID:

1. New Orleans, Louisiana

2. Cincinnati, Ohio

3. Atlanta, Georgia

4. Baltimore, Maryland

5. Memphis, Tennessee

6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

7. Louisville, Kentucky

8. Norfolk, Virginia

9. Detroit, Michigan

10. Dallas, Texas

The bottom 10 cities in terms of homicide rate increase during COVID:

50. Lincoln, Nebraska

49. Madison, Wisconsin

48. Boston, Massachusetts

47. Omaha, Nebraska

46. Garland, Texas

45. Sacramento, California

44. Charlotte, North Carolina

43. Austin, Texas

42. Riverside, California

41. Chandler, Arizona

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