Murders Way Up in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa

New numbers are providing a disturbing insight into just how violent the world we live in is now.

According to data from the FBI, 2020 saw the largest single-year increase in the number of murders in the United States, a jump of nearly 30 percent from 2019.

But it's the murder rate over the past decade that paints an even bleaker picture.

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From 2011 to 2020, the number of homicides nationwide increased by nearly half (47%) to 6.5 for every 100,000 people, the highest it's been in the past 25 years.

And as bad as that sounds, the numbers in the upper midwest are far worse.

24/7 Wall St. has identified the states where murders are up the most over that period and Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota are among eight states where the numbers doubled in the last decade.

Minnesota saw the biggest jump in the murder rate from 2011 to 2020, from 75 to 190 - an increase of more than 150 percent.

Iowa is right behind in the number-two spot, going from 44 homicides in 2011 to 111 in 2020 - an increase of more than 152 percent.

South Dakota is eighth overall. The state saw its murder rate double in ten years - from 20 in 2011 to 40 in 2020.

STATES WITH THE HIGHEST INCREASES IN MURDERS (2011-2020)

1. Minnesota: +153.3%
2. Iowa: +152.3%
3. Wisconsin: +123.2%
4. Kentucky: +113.9%
5. Hawaii: +105%
6. Utah: +104%
7. Arkansas: +100.6%
8. South Dakota: +100%
9. Missouri: +97.5%
10. Colorado: +89.7%

If you're trying hard to find a silver lining, here's one: despite the huge increases in the numbers of murders in the tri-state area, the actual homicide rates in Minnesota (3.4 per 100,000 people), Iowa (3.5 per 100,000 people), and South Dakota (4.5 per 100,000 people) are still well below the national average.

Only six states (Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming) had fewer murders in 2020 than in 2011.