What Percentage of Americans Are Murderers?

Someone stopped by searching for “what percentage of americans are murderers.”

If you assume that all murderers kill only one person, the percentage would be approximately 1 in 22,250 or about 0.000048 percent. So that puts our upper limit at 48 in a million for 2011.

2009 Crime Clearance Rates

However, we know that many murderers are multiple murderers? What percentage? That is less clear.

As you can see from the FBI graphic on the left, only two out of three murders are “solved by arrest.” So one third of murders are never solved. We know that a substantial percentage of killers will kill again, but the percentage of “cold cases” is so high we have no clue to what percentage of the unsolved murders were committed by one time killers. When a cold case is solved, it is common to discover a string of victims, murdered over a number of years.

The little and sketchy information I have indicates that about 8,000 Americans killed someone in 2009, and the “murderer rate” is close to 2.6 per 100,000 population. But of course, without much more data than we have, any guess at the percentage of Americans who have deliberately killed someone is a guess.

So where does that leave us? Actually, almost up that proverbial creek without a paddle. But running the data we have through Bayesian analysis gives us ‘high confidence’ that less than one American in 2500 will kill someone during their lifetime.

Most of those killers will be engaged in criminal activity; and most of their victims will be either partners in crime or rivals in crime.

Continue reading here: Gropers Buying Another 360,000 Rounds of .40 S&W

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Readers' Questions

  • isaias
    What percentage of murderers are female?
    6 months ago
  • The percentage of female murderers varies depending on the country and time period. However, globally, the majority of murderers tend to be male, and the percentage of female murderers is generally significantly lower. According to the United Nations Global Study on Homicide, in most regions, about 80-90% of homicide offenders are male, while the percentage of female offenders ranges from 10-20%. It is important to note that these figures are general estimates and can vary.
    • Joni
      What percentage of serial killers are male?
      7 months ago
    • According to various studies and statistics, the vast majority of serial killers are male. It is estimated that over 90% of serial killers are male, while less than 10% are female. However, it is important to note that these percentages may vary slightly depending on the dataset or source used for the analysis.
      • robert
        What percent of serial killers are male?
        8 months ago
      • According to studies and data, the majority of serial killers are males. It is estimated that approximately 90% of serial killers are male, while around 10% are female.
        • daniela colombo
          What percentage of murderers are male?
          8 months ago
        • According to available data, it is estimated that approximately 90% to 95% of murderers are male.
          • Margaret
            What percent of murderers are male?
            9 months ago
          • Approximately 90% of murderers are male, according to data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports.
            • anniina
              What percentage of murders are solved in america?
              9 months ago
            • According to the FBI's UCR Program, the clearance rate for murder and non-negligent manslaughter in the United States in 2019 was 61.3%.
              • HADDAS IGGI
                What percentage of people are murdered?
                9 months ago
              • worldwide According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, global intentional homicide rate in 2017 was 5.3 per 100,000 population. This represents a 0.8% decrease compared to 2016 figures.
                • santa
                  What percentage of people are serial killers?
                  9 months ago
                • Serial killers make up a very small percentage of the overall population, estimated to be around 0.006%.
                  • lucas
                    What percentage of americans have killed someone?
                    11 months ago
                  • According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, only 0.000006 percent of Americans have killed someone.
                    • david desimone
                      What percent of serial killers are from the us?
                      1 year ago
                    • Approximately 85% of serial killers worldwide are from the United States.
                      • celio
                        What percentage of the us population turn out to be killers?
                        1 year ago
                      • The percentage of the US population that turn out to be killers is extremely small. According to the FBI's Crime in the United States report for 2019, the estimated number of homicides in the United States in 2019 was 16,425. The US population in 2019 was approximately 329 million. This means that the percentage of homicide perpetrators in the United States was approximately 0.005%.
                        • T
                          What is the percentage of killers of in america?
                          1 year ago
                        • According to the most recent FBI statistics, the percentage of murders committed by offenders in the United States in 2018 was 0.7%.
                          • ronnie
                            What percentage of americans are murderers?
                            1 year ago
                          • Less than 0.001% of Americans are murderers.
                            • Lia
                              What percentage of people are murderers?
                              1 year ago
                            • No one knows exactly how many people are murderers, but the percentage is believed to be extremely small. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 0.2% of all crimes committed in 2018 involved murder.
                              • ebony
                                How many murderers are there in the world?
                                1 year ago
                              • It is impossible to determine an exact answer to this question since there is no centralized record keeping system of murders across the world. According to estimates from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, there were 464,000 intentional homicides around the world in 2019.
                                • Hanna-Mari
                                  What percentage of the population are serial killers?
                                  1 year ago
                                • The exact percentage of the population that are serial killers is impossible to determine due to the secretive nature of serial killers. It is estimated that only 1% of all homicides are committed by serial killers.
                                  • peony
                                    What percentage of men are murderers?
                                    1 year ago
                                  • This is impossible to answer as there is no available data to answer this question.