Crime in the United States is much lower than ten years ago, but not everywhere and not for every offense. Comparing the FBI's estimates for 2015 and 2025, five charts show which states saw the biggest falls and which went the other way. For the 2025 rankings themselves, see our posts on violent crime and murder by state and on burglary, robbery and theft by state.
Burglary and robbery fell everywhere
The national burglary rate fell 60.9 per cent, from 494.7 to 193.6 per 100,000 people, and the burglary chart shows a fall in all 51 places, led by New Hampshire at 80.4 per cent. Robbery fell 51.7 per cent nationally and also fell everywhere, most in West Virginia at 80.0 per cent, according to the robbery chart. Property crime as a whole fell 38.6 per cent, with Idaho down 65.4 per cent but Vermont and New York down only 2.0 per cent, as the property crime chart shows.
Violent crime rose in 8 states
Violent crime fell 12.3 per cent nationally, but the chart of states where violent crime rose lists 8 exceptions: Vermont, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Kansas, Virginia, California and Arkansas. Vermont's rate rose 79.7 per cent, though at 214.4 it is still below the national 327.6. In all eight, aggravated assault accounted for more than half of the increase.
The murder rate rose in 11 states
The national murder rate fell from 4.9 to 4.1 per 100,000, and the number of murders from 15,883 to 14,085. The murder rate chart shows 11 states where the rate went up, led by New Mexico, from 5.6 to 8.6, and Utah, from 1.9 to 2.6.
| Offense (US rate per 100,000) | 2015 | 2025 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary | 494.7 | 193.6 | -60.9 |
| Robbery | 102.2 | 49.4 | -51.7 |
| Property crime | 2,500.5 | 1,534.8 | -38.6 |
| Violent crime | 373.7 | 327.6 | -12.3 |
| Murder | 4.9 | 4.1 | -16.7 |
A caution about comparing years
The figures are the FBI's estimates, which it revises each year and which fill in for police agencies that did not report. In some states that share changed a lot: agencies covering 99.8 per cent of Florida's residents reported in 2015 but 81.6 per cent in 2025, so more of Florida's recent numbers are estimated. Comparing two single years also hides the ups and downs in between.