Crime in America over the last 25 years has fallen sharply: the FBI’s 2025 data show a violent crime rate of 327.6 per 100,000 people, down 35% from 504.5 in 2001, and a murder rate of 4.1 per 100,000, down from 5.6 in 2001 and tied for the lowest since national estimates began in 1936. Preliminary FBI data for January to June 2026 show murder down another 23.0% and violent crime down 10.6% from the same months of 2025.
Crime in America Over the Last 25 Years in 2026 – Introduction
Crime in America over the last 25 years is a story of a long decline broken by one sharp spike. The FBI estimates 1,119,768 violent crimes in 2025, against 1,439,480 in 2001, even though the US population grew by more than 50 million people. The murder rate climbed to 6.6 per 100,000 in 2020 and 2022, then fell to 4.1 in 2025, the largest one-year drop since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936.
This report uses only federal and established research sources: the FBI, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the CDC, the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) and Gallup. It compares 2001 with 2025, tracks murder and violent crime by offense, covers property crime and victimization surveys, and ends with 2026 data and public opinion. Figures run through October 2026.
Interesting Facts About Crime in America Over the Last 25 Years in 2026
VIOLENT CRIME RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE
1991 peak | ██████████████████████████████████████ 758.2
2001 | █████████████████████████ 504.5
2025 | ████████████████ 327.6
| Fact | Confirmed Data |
|---|---|
| Violent crime rate, 2025 | 327.6 per 100,000 |
| Violent crime rate, 2001 | 504.5 per 100,000 |
| Violent crime rate peak, 1991 | 758.2 per 100,000 |
| Murder rate, 2025 | 4.1 per 100,000 |
| Murders, 2025 vs 2001 | 14,085 vs 16,037 |
| Property crime rate, 2025 vs 2001 | 1,534.8 vs 3,658.1 |
| Violent crimes cleared, 2025 | 47.4% |
| Population covered by FBI data, 2025 | 96.2% |
Source: FBI, UCR Summary of Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025 (released August 2026); FBI, Crime in the United States 2007, Table 1 (2001 data); Congressional Research Service, Violent Crime Trends, 1990–2021.
The violent crime rate fell 35.1% from 2001 to 2025 and 56.8% from the 1991 peak. The count dropped 22.2%, from 1,439,480 to 1,119,768 offenses, while the population kept growing. Murders fell 12.2% in number, from 16,037 to 14,085, and 26.8% in rate.
Property crime fell further. Its rate dropped 58.0% since 2001. One caution applies to every comparison here: the FBI changed its rape definition in 2013, switched to the NIBRS reporting system, and flags 2021 as a year too incomplete to compare. The 2001 and 2025 rates are close analogs, not perfect twins, so the true decline in violent crime is probably slightly larger than the figures show. FBI data for 2025 cover agencies serving 328,918,006 people, and every city of 1,000,000 or more residents sent a full 12 months of data.
Murder Rate in America 2026: The 25-Year Trend
MURDER RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE
2001 | ████████████████████████████ 5.6
2006 | █████████████████████████████ 5.7
2010 | ████████████████████████ 4.8
2014 | ██████████████████████ 4.4
2016 | ███████████████████████████ 5.4
2019 | █████████████████████████ 5.0
2020 | █████████████████████████████████ 6.6
2022 | █████████████████████████████████ 6.6
2024 | ██████████████████████████ 5.1
2025 | █████████████████████ 4.1
| Year | Murder Rate per 100,000 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 5.6 | Excludes September 11 victims |
| 2014 | 4.4 | Low point of the 2010s |
| 2020 | 6.6 | 20-year high |
| 2021 | 6.5 | FBI says not comparable |
| 2022 | 6.6 | 20-year high, tied |
| 2024 | 5.1 | Revised figure |
| 2025 | 4.1 | Ties 1955 and 1956 |
Source: FBI, UCR Summary of Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025, Figure 1; FBI, Crime in the United States 2007, Table 1.
The rate slid from 5.6 in 2001 to 4.4 in 2014, a 21.4% drop. It rose to 5.4 by 2016, held near 5.0 through 2019, then jumped 32% to 6.6 in 2020. Since the 2022 peak it has fallen 37.9% to 4.1. The FBI says the 2025 rate matches 1955 and 1956 and is the lowest of the past 20 years.
Different agencies count homicide differently. CDC death certificates show 20,162 homicide deaths in 2024, a rate of 5.9 per 100,000, and 15,364 of them, or 76%, involved a firearm. The FBI counts murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses and excludes justifiable homicides, so its 2024 rate was lower at 5.1. Use one source per comparison.
Violent Crime Statistics 2026: Murder, Robbery and Assault Compared With 2001
CHANGE IN RATE, 2001 TO 2025
Robbery | █████████████ -66.7%
Murder | █████ -26.8%
Aggravated assault | █████ -25.3%
| Offense | 2001 Rate | 2025 Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 504.5 | 327.6 | −35.1% |
| Murder | 5.6 | 4.1 | −26.8% |
| Robbery | 148.5 | 49.4 | −66.7% |
| Aggravated assault | 318.6 | 238.0 | −25.3% |
| Rape (definition changed in 2013) | 31.8 | 36.1 | Not comparable |
Source: FBI, Crime in the United States 2007, Table 1; FBI, UCR Summary of Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025. Rates are per 100,000 inhabitants.
Robbery fell the most. Its 49.4 rate is the lowest of the past 20 years and less than one third of the 150.1 recorded in 2006. Aggravated assault, the largest violent offense, fell just 25.3% since 2001 and is still above its 2013–2015 levels of 229.0 to 237.2. Murder, the rarest violent crime, now drives the headlines because it moved the most in recent years.
Every violent offense fell again in 2025: murder 18.1%, robbery 18.5%, rape 7.6% and aggravated assault 7.2%, with total violent crime down 9.3%. Rape is the exception to the long decline. Its rate rose after the 2013 definition change, passed 40.0 from 2016 to 2023, and reached 36.1 in 2025, the lowest since 2012.
Property Crime Statistics 2026: Burglary, Theft and Auto Theft
CHANGE IN RATE, 2001 TO 2025
Burglary | ███████████████ -73.9%
Property crime | ████████████ -58.0%
Motor vehicle theft| ███████████ -54.2%
Larceny-theft | ███████████ -54.0%
| Offense | 2001 Rate | 2025 Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime | 3,658.1 | 1,534.8 | −58.0% |
| Burglary | 741.8 | 193.6 | −73.9% |
| Larceny-theft | 2,485.7 | 1,144.1 | −54.0% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 430.5 | 197.0 | −54.2% |
Source: FBI, Crime in the United States 2007, Table 1; FBI, UCR Summary of Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025. Rates are per 100,000 inhabitants.
Burglary has nearly collapsed. Its rate fell 73.9% since 2001 and dropped below 200 per 100,000 for the first time in the 20-year series. Larceny-theft also hit a 20-year low, below 1,200. Property offenses overall fell 12.4% in 2025, with burglary down 15.8% and larceny-theft down 9.8%.
Auto theft shows the one clear spike. The rate climbed to 321.9 in 2023, its highest since 2007, then fell 38.8% to 197.0 by 2025, including a 22.7% drop in volume in 2025 alone. Motor vehicle theft fell in every population group, by 9.6% to 29.4%. Only 17.4% of property crimes were cleared in 2025. Theft is also the category victims report least, so survey data matter for the full picture.
Arrests and Clearances 2026: Who Is Being Arrested
CHANGE IN REPORTED ARRESTEES, 2024 TO 2025
Juvenile property arrests | ████████████ -12.2%
Juvenile violent arrests | █████ -5.0%
Adult property arrests | ████ -3.8%
Adult violent arrests | ██ -1.7%
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Violent crime arrests (consistent agencies) | 380,642 | 372,757 |
| Property crime arrests (consistent agencies) | 820,429 | 782,886 |
| Juvenile violent crime arrests | 39,117 | 37,156 |
| Juvenile property crime arrests | 77,779 | 68,281 |
| Violent crimes cleared | Not shown | 47.4% |
| Property crimes cleared | Not shown | 17.4% |
Source: FBI, UCR Summary of Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025, Tables 2 and 3. Arrest trends use 13,286 agencies with 12 months of data in both years.
Young people drove the arrest decline. Juvenile violent crime arrests fell 5.0%, from 39,117 to 37,156, and juvenile property arrests fell 12.2%, from 77,779 to 68,281. Adult arrests fell more slowly, by 1.7% for violent crime and 3.8% for property crime. Total violent crime arrests in the trend sample dropped 2.1% and property arrests 4.6%.
Police solve a minority of reported crimes. Agencies cleared 47.4% of violent crimes and 17.4% of property crimes in 2025, by arrest or exceptional means. Juveniles alone accounted for 8.0% of cleared violent offenses and 7.0% of cleared property offenses. The FBI estimates agencies made 413,991 arrests for violent crime and 868,330 for property crime in 2025.
Crime Victimization Survey 2026: What BJS Finds
VIOLENT VICTIMIZATION PER 1,000 PEOPLE AGE 12+
1993 | ████████████████████████████████████████ 79.8
2020 | ████████ 16.4
2021 | ████████ 16.5
2024 | ████████████ 23.3
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Violent victimization, 2024 | 23.3 per 1,000 |
| Reported to police, 2024 | 11.2 per 1,000 |
| Share reported to police | About 48% |
| Violent victimization, 1993 | 79.8 per 1,000 |
| Violent crime excluding simple assault, 2024 | 8.9 per 1,000 |
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Criminal Victimization, 2024 (September 2025); BJS, The Nation’s Two Crime Measures, 2015–2024 (March 2026). The 2024 report is the latest annual NCVS report in the sources reviewed.
The National Crime Victimization Survey tells the same long story. The violent victimization rate fell about 71% from 79.8 per 1,000 in 1993 to 23.3 in 2024. But the survey also shows that 2024 sat well above the pandemic-era readings of 16.4 in 2020 and 16.5 in 2021, so the survey shows a flatter recent trend than police counts do.
The NCVS covers crimes whether or not anyone called police. Only about 48% of violent victimizations were reported in 2024, which is why the survey and the FBI can diverge. BJS describes the two systems as complementary. FBI figures are more current, and the survey is the better check on how much crime never reaches police.
Weapons and Relationships in Homicide 2026
SHARE OF HOMICIDES INVOLVING A FIREARM
CDC death data, 2024 | ██████████████████████████████████████ 76.2%
FBI NIBRS offenses, 2025 | █████████████████████████████████ 65.9%
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| FBI homicide offenses, NIBRS, 2025 | 15,522 |
| Offenses involving a firearm | 10,229 (65.9%) |
| Offenses involving a knife | 1,509 |
| Offender known but not related | 35.1% |
| CDC homicide deaths, 2024 | 20,162 (5.9 per 100,000) |
| CDC firearm homicides, 2024 | 15,364 (4.5 per 100,000) |
Source: FBI, UCR Summary of Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025, Tables 6–8; CDC National Center for Health Statistics, FastStats Homicide (2024 data). Offenses can list more than one weapon.
Firearms are the weapon in about two out of three homicide offenses reported to the FBI and in 76% of CDC homicide deaths. The two shares differ because the FBI counts offenses from agencies covering 89.5% of the population in NIBRS, while the CDC counts deaths from certificates, including police shootings. Pew’s April 2026 review of CDC data puts the 2024 gun homicide rate at 4.7, far below the 7.2 peak in 1974.
Most killers are not strangers. In 35.1% of homicide offenses the offender was known to the victim but not related. Strangers accounted for 2,454 offenses and family members for 2,165, by the FBI’s NIBRS tables. Firearm trends and state differences are covered in these fatal shooting statistics in the US.
Crime in 2026 So Far: Preliminary FBI and City Data
CHANGE, JANUARY-JUNE 2026 VS 2025, FBI PRELIMINARY
Murder | ███████████████████████ -23.0%
Robbery | ████████████████████ -19.6%
Rape | ███████████████████ -18.6%
Violent crime | ███████████ -10.6%
Aggravated assault | ███████ -7.2%
| Source | Measure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| FBI preliminary | Violent crime, Jan–Jun 2026 vs 2025 | −10.6% |
| FBI preliminary | Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter | −23.0% |
| CCJ, 30 cities | Homicide, first half of 2026 | −18% |
| CCJ | Carjacking | −47% |
| CCJ | Motor vehicle theft | −20% |
| CCJ | Homicide vs 2022 peak | −51% |
Source: FBI, UCR Summary of Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025 (Director’s message, preliminary data); Council on Criminal Justice, Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2026 Update (July 2026).
The FBI’s preliminary data show the decline continuing: murder down 23.0%, robbery 19.6%, rape 18.6%, violent crime 10.6% and aggravated assault 7.2%. The CCJ’s mid-year sample agrees. Homicides fell 18% in the first half of 2026, which meant 215 fewer killings in the 30 cities reporting. They were 31% below the first half of 2019 and 51% below the 2022 peak, and CCJ says 2026 will likely set another historic low. The full murder picture is in these murder rate statistics in the US.
Two cautions apply. These are preliminary or city-sample figures, and the FBI will revise them. The decline is also not universal: CCJ found 26 of 30 cities with lower homicide rates than in 2019, so four sat above it, and shoplifting was the only tracked offense still above its 2019 level. CCJ says there is no single or easy explanation for the drop.
Public Perception of Crime 2026: What Gallup Finds
GALLUP: "MORE CRIME IN THE U.S. THAN A YEAR AGO"
2023 | ██████████████████████████████████████ 77%
2024 | ████████████████████████████████ 64%
2025 | ████████████████████████ 49%
| Gallup Measure | 2025 | Earlier Reading |
|---|---|---|
| More crime in the U.S. than a year ago | 49% | 64% in 2024 |
| Crime in the U.S. is extremely or very serious | 49% | Lowest since 2018 |
| More crime in your local area | 30% | 49% in 2024 |
Source: Gallup annual Crime poll, October 1–16, 2025 (published October 30, 2025); Gallup, 2023 and 2024 polls. Gallup’s 2026 results had not been published at the time of writing.
Perception is slowly catching up with the data. In 2025, 49% of Americans said crime had increased nationally, the lowest share since 2001, down from 64% in 2024 and 77% in 2023. Local views are better than national ones: only 30% reported more crime in their own area, a 19-point drop from the year before. Gallup finds Americans rate national crime far worse than local crime in every poll since 2000.
Public opinion is not the same as measured risk. Gallup notes that partisan identity shapes answers, with people more likely to say crime is rising when the president is from the other party. The risk itself varies by place, as the crime rates by state in the US show. Gallup fields its next crime survey every October, so the 2026 reading is due soon.
Frequently Asked Questions About Crime in America Over the Last 25 Years in 2026
Is crime going up or down in the US?
Down. The FBI estimates violent crime fell 9.3% and murder 18.1% from 2024 to 2025, and preliminary data show further declines in the first half of 2026.
What is the US murder rate in 2025?
4.1 per 100,000 people, about 14,085 murders. The FBI says it ties 1955 and 1956 for the lowest rate since national estimates began.
How much has violent crime dropped since 2001?
The violent crime rate fell 35.1%, from 504.5 to 327.6 per 100,000, according to FBI estimates.
What was the peak of violent crime in America?
The FBI’s violent crime rate peaked in 1991 at 758.2 per 100,000. The 2025 rate is 56.8% below it.
When was the murder rate highest in recent years?
The FBI’s 20-year high was 6.6 per 100,000 in both 2020 and 2022.
How does the FBI murder count differ from the CDC’s?
The CDC counted 20,162 homicide deaths in 2024, including police shootings. The FBI counts murder offenses and excludes justifiable homicides, so its figure is lower.
What share of homicides involve guns?
About 76% in CDC 2024 death data and 65.9% of homicide offenses in FBI 2025 NIBRS data.
How much of violent crime is reported to police?
About 48% of violent victimizations in 2024, according to BJS’s National Crime Victimization Survey.
Which crime fell the most since 2001?
Burglary, down 73.9%, followed by robbery, down 66.7%.
Did auto theft rise recently?
Yes, to 321.9 per 100,000 in 2023, then it fell to 197.0 in 2025, the lowest in 20 years.
How many police officers were killed in 2025?
53 officers were feloniously killed, and reported assaults on officers reached a 10-year high of 90,178, according to the FBI.
How many hate crimes were reported in 2025?
10,881 incidents, down from 11,679 in 2024, according to the FBI.
Do Americans think crime is rising?
Fewer than before. 49% said so in Gallup’s 2025 poll, the lowest since 2001, compared with 77% in 2023.
How many violent and property crimes occurred in 2025?
The FBI estimates 1,119,768 violent crimes and 5,245,768 property crimes in 2025.
What is the property crime rate in 2025?
1,534.8 per 100,000 people, down 58.0% from 3,658.1 in 2001, according to FBI estimates.
Why does the FBI call 2021 data not comparable?
The 2021 estimates came almost entirely from the new NIBRS system, and the FBI says they fall below the level needed to be nationally representative.
Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.