Homicides increased by 8 percent in Milwaukee last year, even as murder rates fell by double-digits in large cities around the country.
There were 142 homicides in Milwaukee in 2025, up from 132 in 2024, according to crime data from the Milwaukee Police Department. The jump in killings came after the city experienced two straight years of declines.
The increase in violent deaths happened while the national murder rate was on the decline. Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows homicides fell 18.1 percent in the United States from September 2024 to August 2025…