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What Areas of the U.S. Have the Highest Crime Rate?

The U.S. Census Bureau maintains data regarding violent crime and property crime in all 50 states as well as 76 of the country's largest cities. The latest data is from 2008 and is expressed in terms of rates per 100,000 people. In 2008, at times the largest cities matched their corresponding states in terms of having the highest crime rates per 100,000 people, but often the states' and large cities' crime rates were quite different.

  1. Murder

    • The highest rate of murders occurred in Washington, D.C. in 2008 (31.4). The states with the highest murder rates are those in the southern United States: Louisiana (12.7), Mississippi (8.9), Alabama (8), New Mexico (7.6), Georgia (7.1) and Arizona (7), with the next three highest occurring in the Midwest in Illinois (8.9) and Missouri (7.8), and in New England in Maryland (8.8). The highest murder rate in the United States' largest cities occurred in New Orleans, LA (63.6), with the remainder primarily in the northern half of the country: St. Louis, MO (46.9), Baltimore, MD (36.9), Detroit, MI (33.8), Kansas City, MO (25.5), Newark, NJ (23.9), Cleveland, OH (23.5), Pittsburgh, PA (23.2), Philadelphia, PA (23), Cincinnati, OH (21.9) and Memphis, TN (20.5). Oakland, CA had a murder rate among these at 28.6.

    Forcible Rape

    • The highest rates of forcible rape occurred in 2008 in Alaska, with a state rate of 64.8 and a city rate in Anchorage of 93.9. Other states and large cities with the highest forcible rapes in 2008 occurred throughout the country in South Dakota (76.5), New Mexico (57.2), Arkansas (50.5), North Dakota (46.3), Michigan (45.1), Kansas (44.6), Colorado (43.4), Delaware (42.5), Nevada (42.5), Ohio (41.8), Oklahoma (41), Washington (40.1), Cleveland, OH (97.6), Minneapolis, MN (97.4,; Colorado Springs, CO (88.5), Oakland, CA (84.2), Columbus, OH (81.8), Cincinnati, OH (80.9), Wichita, KS (76.7), Philadelphia, PA (72) and Albuquerque, NM (70.1).

    Robbery

    • By far the highest rate of robberies in 2008 occurred in D.C., with a District of Columbia state rate of 748.5 and a city rate for Washington, D.C. of 702. States with the next highest rates were Nevada (249), Illinois (248.7), Maryland (234.3), Delaware (211.5), Georgia (198.8), Florida (198), California (188.8), Ohio (184) and Tennessee (173.7). Cities with the next highest robbery rates were Cleveland, OH (878), Oakland, CA (827), St. Louis, MO (739), Cincinnati, OH (727), Memphis, TN (712), Detroit, MI (675), Philadelphia, PA (667), Baltimore, MD (634), Atlanta, GA (621), Chicago, IL (589), Miami, FL (565) and Buffalo, NY (569).

    Aggravated Assault

    • The state with the highest rate of aggravated assault in 2008 was Tennessee at 508, while the large city with the highest rate was St. Louis, MO at 1,220. States and large cities with the highest rates were D.C. (626), South Carolina (535), New Mexico (494), Alaska (491), Louisiana (477), Florida (452), Delaware (448), Nevada (430), Oklahoma (389), Illinois (384), Maryland (365), Arkansas (361), Missouri (344), Michigan (336), Detroit, MI (1,179), Memphis, TN (1,138), Oakland, CA (1,028), Nashville, TN (937), Tulsa, OK (920), Stockton, CA (897), Baltimore, MD (896), Kansas City, MO (845), Miami, FL (746), Buffalo, NY (727) and Atlanta, GA (725).

    Burglary

    • North Carolina had the highest state rate of burglaries in 2008 at 1,231 while Detroit, MI had the highest large city rate at 1,967. Arkansas (1,197), Alabama (1,111), Georgia (1,067), New Mexico (1,066), Tennessee (1,044), Florida (1,028), South Carolina (1,018) and Louisiana (1,012) had the next highest state burglary rates, while Memphis, TN (2,362), Cleveland, OH (2,100), Toledo, OH (2,055), St. Louis, MO (2,042), Columbus, OH (1,956), Cincinnati, OH (1,903), Atlanta, GA (1,874), Indianapolis, IN (1,765), Tulsa, OK (1,756), Oklahoma City, OK (1,670), Dallas, TX (1,657), Kansas City, MO (1,654), New Orleans, LA (1,631) and Buffalo, NY (1,521) had the next highest large city rates.

    Larceny and Theft

    • Rates of larceny or theft were highest in 2008 in Alabama (2,782) and San Antonio, TX (5,229). The next highest rates were in the states of South Carolina (2,802), Florida (2,766), Texas (2,689), Tennessee (2,676), North Carolina (2,623), Utah (2,586), Georgia (2,563), Missouri (2,551), Washington (2,539) and Delaware (2,525). The cities of Corpus Christi, TX (4,712); St. Louis, MO (4,865); Memphis, TN (4,843); Austin, TX (4,457); Atlanta, GA (4,221); and Albuquerque, NM (4,000) had the highest rates of larceny and theft..

    Motor Vehicle Theft

    • Motor vehicle theft rates were highest in the state count for the District of Columbia at 1,092, while the highest large city rate was in Detroit, MI at 1,815. Other high state rates were Nevada (612), Arizona (589), California (524), Maryland (450), Georgia (439), Washington (439), New Mexico (418), Hawaii (397), South Carolina (392), Michigan (363), Missouri (354), Texas (351), and Illinois (350). Oakland, CA (2,013), St. Louis, MO (1,640), Newark, NJ (1,342), Cleveland, OH (1,219), Atlanta, GA (1,218), New Orleans, LA (1,140), Tucson, AZ (1,098), Milwaukee, WI (1,086), Sacramento, CA (1,051) and Washington, D.C. (1,046) had the highest large city rates.

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