Estimated number of homicide victims of juvenile offenders, 1980-2020

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Homicide

Q:	How many murders are committed by youth in the United States?
A:	Known juvenile offenders were involved in about 1,122 murders in the U.S. in 2020, representing about 8% of all known murder offenders.

Year	Lone juvenile offender	Multiple juvenile offenders	Juvenile & adult offenders
1980	867	115	293
1981	807	111	319
1982	651	106	297
1983	665	88	231
1984	551	91	179
1985	644	83	247
1986	755	104	285
1987	775	104	279
1988	876	153	361
1989	993	160	398
1990	1,090	217	564
1991	1,203	196	648
1992	1,269	227	546
1993	1,359	281	632
1994	1,335	273	712
1995	1,113	207	619
1996	940	181	537
1997	811	164	435
1998	699	117	379
1999	610	93	332
2000	507	92	276
2001	467	71	326
2002	432	78	325
2003	447	78	276
2004	451	82	286
2005	470	88	344
2006	528	107	425
2007	543	94	410
2008	461	88	371
2009	435	76	350
2010	362	71	326
2011	340	53	289
2012	326	57	256
2013	286	60	267
2014	328	67	253
2015	360	67	268
2016	378	70	291
2017	399	70	312
2018	425	96	354
2019	390	82	306
2020	508	136	478

[ Graph version ] [ CSV file ]

Between 1994 and 2003, the estimated number of murders involving a juvenile offender fell 65% to its lowest level since at least 1980. However, between 2003 and 2006, the estimated number of juvenile murder offenders increased 28%, then fell 42% through 2013. This period of decline was followed by an 83% increase through 2020.
In the last year, murders by juveniles acting alone increased 30%, murders involving multiple juvenile offenders increased 65%, and murders committed by juveniles and adults increased 56%.
In the 1980s, 25% of the murders involving a juvenile offender also involved an adult offender. This proportion grew to 41% in the 2010s, and reached 43% in 2020.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03105.asp?qaDate=2020. Released on December 09, 2021.

Data Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2020 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: FBI.