FBI UCR Homicide Data — 121 recorded incidents
Birmingham, Alabama has recorded homicide rates that rank among the highest of any American city, driven by violence in the city's North and West sides where poverty, limited economic opportunity, and a legacy of racial segregation have created conditions for persistent lethal crime. The city gained national attention with the 2023 murder of a woman whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase on a highway, a case that prosecutors said was linked to a domestic dispute. Alabama's high rates of incarceration have done little to deter homicide, which remains stubbornly elevated despite decades of tough-on-crime policies. Birmingham also has a dark civil rights history — the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four young girls remains one of the most notorious murders in American history. FBI UCR data powers The Murder Channel's Birmingham homicide tracker.
Birmingham, Alabama has recorded 121 homicides over the tracked period, with 148 victims identified.. The city ranks #17 among 339 U.S. cities tracked by the FBI, with a clearance rate of 19% — meaning an arrest or suspect identification was made in 23 of those incidents.
Firearms — predominantly firearm - handguns — account for 38% of homicides with weapon data, followed by firearm - type unknown. The highest single month on record was October 2022, with 14 homicides.
Birmingham's homicide rate is 58% above the average for tracked U.S. cities, based on FBI UCR data. 68 cases remain under investigation. The primary reporting agency was Abbeville Police Department, which filed 102 incident reports. See also our Alabama state homicide data page for broader context. The Birmingham metropolitan area continues to be monitored as part of the national homicide tracking effort.