One percent of U.S. counties account for 42% of nationwide murders, study shows

One percent of U.S. counties account for about 42% of U.S. murders, while 52% of counties have no murders, according to a recent study.

The 1% is 32 counties, which have 21% of the U.S. population, according to a study of 2020 homicides published Monday by the Crime Prevention Research Center.

The study also found 5% of counties account for 73% of all of the murders, yet having just 47% of the U.S. population, the study also found.

The 52% of counties without any murders account for 10% of the U.S. population.

"Murder isn’t a nationwide problem," center President John Lott writes at the conclusion of the study. "It's a problem in a small set of urban areas concentrated in small areas inside them. And even in those counties, murders are concentrated in small areas inside them, and any solution must reduce those murders."

In 2020, Cook County, Ill., had the most murders, 775. Los Angeles County, Calif., was No. 2, with 691 murders. Other counties with high numbers of homicides include Harris County, Texas; Philadelphia County, Pa.; and New York City.