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FACT BRIEF

Does Wisconsin have the worst disparity in homicide rates between Black and white women?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

A study published Feb. 8, 2024, in the Lancet peer-reviewed medical journal found that black women age 25 to 44 in the U.S. are disproportionately murdered compared with white women. The inequity was highest in Wisconsin.

Columbia University researchers examined homicide rates for 1999 to 2020 for 30 states. They used federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

The 2020 national homicide rate among black women was 11.6 per 100,000, compared with 3 per 100,000 among white women, an inequity that has “persisted over time and is virtually unchanged since 1999.”

The gap was greatest in Wisconsin. In 2019–20, black women were 20 times more likely than white women to die by homicide, the study said.

The Guardian found similar disparities. It reported in June 2022 that between 2019 and 2020, the homicide rate among Black Wisconsin women and girls doubled, the highest increase of any state.

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Sources
The Lancet Racial inequities in homicide rates and homicide methods among Black and White women aged 25–44 years in the USA, 1999–2020: a cross-sectional time series study
The Guardian ‘An unspoken epidemic’: Homicide rate increase for Black women rivals that of Black men
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Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.