Violent Crime is Rising in Wisconsin

Milwaukee's violent crime rate exceeds the national average by nearly 300%, with 1,597 violent crimes per 100,000 residents compared to 399 nationwide. While major cities across the country celebrated double-digit homicide declines in 2025—including Chicago, Baltimore, and Philadelphia—Milwaukee homicides rose 8% from 132 in 2024 to 142 in 2025. The chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Milwaukee is one in 68, and 96% of U.S. cities are safer. Even as the nation saw its largest one-year murder drop since 1937, Milwaukee moved in the opposite direction.

Wisconsin averages one gun death every twelve hours. In the most recent year of finalized data, 762 people died by firearm across the state—236 homicides and 502 suicides. The overall gun death rate has surged 55% since 2014. Firearms are now the second leading cause of death among Wisconsin children ages 1 to 17. Young Black males ages 15 to 34 make up just 1% of the state's population but account for 36% of all gun homicide deaths. The violence is not concentrated in statistics alone; it costs Wisconsinites $9 billion annually, or $1,529 for every resident.

Wisconsin averages one gun death every twelve hours. In the most recent year of finalized data, 762 people died by firearm across the state—236 homicides and 502 suicides. The overall gun death rate has surged 55% since 2014. Firearms are now the second leading cause of death among Wisconsin children ages 1 to 17. The violence is not concentrated in statistics alone; it costs Wisconsinites $9 billion annually, or $1,529 for every resident.

Neighborhoods in Milwaukee bear a disproportionate burden, but the crisis radiates outward. In 2023, law enforcement recovered and traced 8,441 crime guns across Wisconsin. Milwaukee alone accounted for 3,781 of those recoveries—45% of the state total—while cities like Madison, West Allis, Racine, and Kenosha contributed hundreds more. The violence spills from urban centers into surrounding communities, and the tools of that violence are overwhelmingly sourced from within Wisconsin itself. Gun violence is not a Milwaukee problem; it is a Wisconsin problem.