CDC Reports Highest U.S. Homicide Rate In Modern History in 2020

New data from the CDC shows that in 2020, the U.S. recorded its highest homicide rate ever in modern history, with a 30% rise over 2019.

Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at NCHS, told CNN said that it's the largest increase from year to year since 1904-1905.

"The only larger increase since we've been recording these data occurred between 1904 and 1905, and that increase was most likely -- at least partly -- the result of better reporting," Anderson said. "We had states being added to what we refer to as the death registration areas, so we were counting deaths in more areas over time. We didn't have all states reporting until 1933."

In all, there were roughly 21,750 murders in 2020, as opposed to 16,425 in 2019, per the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Looking for explanations for the rise, criminology experts told CNN that the pandemic was the driving factor in the rise. Specifically, unemployment shot up as a result, leading to higher stress and anxiety levels in low-income households.

While the pandemic has been identified as the main reason for the increase, it simply does not explain what's happening in Chicago. Even as life has begun to normalize again and lockdowns have become less common, Chicago is on pace to have its highest homicide rate since 1996.

WBEZ Chicago reported at the start of September that there had already been 524 murders in the city, a 3% increase on 2020's numbers. Take that for data, as we continue to see Chicago become a bloodbath on a nightly basis.

More data, more problems on our own soil, where we continue to kill each other at high rates. You can argue all you want that the pandemic is the biggest reason for the rise, but this a problem that had been brewing. A 6.0% per 100k population homicide rate in 2019 was a huge jump from 2018, where the rate was 4.96%.

We've now reached a 7.8% rate, which is taking us back to the troubling rates we saw in the 1990s. And the more that Democrat-led states push for less police presence and resources, the more this number will inevitably climb. It's a sad future for the U.S., which continues to have many issues shoved under the rug as alternative narratives are pushed to the forefront.