California has recorded more documented serial killers than any other state in the U.S., according to an analysis of historical data. The state has been linked to 128 serial killers, followed by Texas with 90 and Florida with 76.
Other states with high numbers of documented serial killers include Ohio (50), Illinois (43), Missouri (41), and New York (39). Washington, Oregon, and Indiana round out the top ten with 33, 32, and 30, respectively.
However, when adjusting for population, the states with the highest ratio of documented serial killers per capita are different. Wyoming tops this list, with eight documented serial killers, equating to approximately one offender for every 73,584 residents. Alaska ranks second in this adjusted measure with nine serial killers, followed by Oregon with 32.
Historical Context of Serial Homicides
The figures reflect documented historical offenders and do not indicate current active killers. Serial killings account for less than one percent of all homicides in the U.S., with the majority of documented cases occurring between 1970 and 2000. The rate of serial killings has been declining since the 1990s.
Historically, serial killers in the U.S. have predominantly been lone males. Financial gain is cited as the leading motive in 32 percent of cases, followed by killing for pleasure (25 percent) and anger (18 percent). Gang activity accounts for six percent of motives.
Commonly, serial killers exhibit patterns in their methods or victimology. Ted Bundy, for instance, often targeted college-aged women and used strangulation. Across all documented U.S. cases, shooting has been the most prevalent method of killing, followed by strangulation and stabbing. Victims have been split almost evenly between men and women, with a median age of 30.
Notorious Cases by State
Numerous states have been home to infamous serial killers. California has been the setting for crimes committed by Joseph James DeAngelo, known as the Golden State Killer, and Edmund Kemper, the Co-ed Killer. The Zodiac Killer also operated in California during the late 1960s.
In Florida, Aileen Wuornos murdered seven men on state highways between 1989 and 1990. Illinois was terrorized by John Wayne Gacy, responsible for the deaths of at least 33 young men and boys in the 1970s.
Texas was home to Dean Corll, the Candy Man, who abducted, tortured, and murdered at least 28 teenage boys and young men in the Houston area between 1970 and 1973. Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, murdered 10 people in and around Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991.
New York saw the crimes of David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, who killed six people and wounded seven others in a shooting spree in 1976 and 1977.
Washington became associated with Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, convicted of murdering 49 women primarily during the 1980s and 1990s. Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with most of his crimes occurring in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
