Which states have the highest and lowest crime rates?
In 2025, Alaska and New Mexico had the nation’s highest violent and property crime rates, respectively, despite declines from the previous year.
In 2025, Alaska recorded the nation’s highest violent crime rate and New Mexico the highest property crime rate.
The US crime rate has been trending downward for decades, including in 2025. Between 2024 and 2025, the violent crime rate in the US decreased by 9.7%, while property crime rates decreased by 12.8%.
State-by-state, though, crime rates vary because of factors such as urbanization levels, economic conditions, and law enforcement effectiveness.
Alaska leads states in violent crime, while New Mexico leads in property crime.
Reported violent and property crimes per 100,000 people by state, 2025
How does the FBI define violent and property crime?
How does the FBI define violent and property crime?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program classifies violent crimes as those involving force or the threat of force. They are categorized into four specific offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
The UCR defines property crime as a crime during which someone takes money or property without using force or threats. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.
Arson is also considered a property crime, and total offenses are reported, but the numbers are too small to calculate reliable rates—so the FBI does not publish arson rates.
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Which states have the highest and lowest violent crime rates?
Alaska had the highest violent crime rate of any state in 2025, at 729.3 incidents per 100,000 residents, followed by New Mexico (621.6), Arkansas (531.8), Louisiana (515.1), and Tennessee (492.3).
The states with the least violent crimes were Maine (93.2), Connecticut (109.6), New Hampshire (117.6), Rhode Island (144.1), and Wyoming (179.9). The US average was 327.6 per 100,000 people.
Among states, Alaska, New Mexico, and Arkansas have the highest violent crime rates.
Reported violent crimes per 100,000 people, by state, 2025
Which states have the highest and lowest property crime rates?
New Mexico had the highest property crime rate among states in 2025, at 2,239.5 crimes per 100,000 residents, followed by Colorado (2,143.6), Oregon (2,118.0), Nevada (1,996.0), and Washington state (1,974.8). The states with the fewest property crimes were Idaho (605.0), New Hampshire (818.1), Rhode Island (910.5), Maine (939.1), and Wisconsin (1,016.7). The US average was 1,534.8 per 100,000 people.
New Mexico, Colorado, and Oregon have the highest property crime rates among states.
Reported property crimes per 100,000 people, by state, 2025
Washington, DC, had higher crime rates in both categories than any state, but comparing its rates to other cities is more fitting.
Which regions have the lowest and highest crime rates?
Northeastern states have the lowest crime rates among regions. Their violent crime rate was 19.3% lower than the US average; the property crime rate was 13.9% lower.
In 2025, three of the five states with the lowest property crime rates and the four lowest violent crime rates were in the Northeast. Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were among the states with the lowest rates for both types.
Crime rates were highest in the West: the region’s violent crime rate was 19.2% higher than the US average, and the property crime rate was 16.5% higher.
Western states had the five highest property crime rates and the two highest violent crime rates.
Western states have the highest crime rates, while Northeastern states have the lowest.
Reported violent and property crimes per 100,000 people, by Census region, 2025
Where does this data come from?
Where does this data come from?
The FBI is the main government source of US crime data. Since 1930, it’s collected crime data from local law enforcement agencies through the Summary Reporting System (SRS). The FBI has used this data to estimate national, regional, and state crime statistics since the 1960s.
The FBI phased out the SRS in 2021 in favor of the more comprehensive National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which collects data on single incidents instead of aggregated summaries of crimes, allowing the data to capture more specific crime information.
The latest data available from the SRS is from 2020, while the NIBRS has data through 2025.
Law enforcement agencies are still transitioning to the new system. As of 2025, over 17,000 agencies representing nearly 97% of the US population had submitted data.
The FBI has always used partial population data to estimate crime outcomes, even in areas that don’t report. The more agencies that report data to the FBI, the more accurate the estimates become. This article uses data from both the NIBRS and the SRS to shed light on both recent geographic trends and trends over time.
Note that the FBI calculated the estimates used, applying recent NIBRS data to replicate the estimation methodology previously used for SRS data. This helps make the estimates comparable over time despite the change in reporting systems, although relatively lower reporting rates during the transition to NIBRS may still impact accuracy, so the data provided throughout this piece can still be used to approximate crime rate trends over time.
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Keep exploring
- Is crime in the US going up or down? - Violent and property crime rates were lower in 2025 than in 2024 and have generally declined nationwide since the early 1990s.
- Which cities have the highest and lowest crime rates? - In 2024, violent and property crime rates were at their lowest levels in at least 48 years, having fallen by more than half since 1991.
- How have property crime rates changed over time? - The national property crime rate decreased in 2024 to its lowest level in at least 48 years — the largest single year drop in that time.
- How many police officers die in the line of duty? - In 2025, 81 officers died while on duty. Of those deaths, 65% were purposeful killings, and 35% were accidental.
