Data / Rankings / Violent crimes / US states

US states by violent crimes

California had the highest violent crimes of 51 states in 2016, at 174,796. Vermont had the lowest, at 851. The median was 17,716 and the figure for the United States was 1.29 million. Source: the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

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Highest174,796California
Lowest851Vermont
Median17,71651 states
United States1,285,606History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 25,878 countAlaska: 5,966 countArizona: 32,542 countArkansas: 16,563 countCalifornia: 174,796 countColorado: 19,030 countConnecticut: 8,169 countDelaware: 4,859 countDistrict of Columbia: 8,236 countFlorida: 88,700 countGeorgia: 40,268 countHawaii: 3,452 countIdaho: 3,876 countIllinois: 56,054 countIndiana: 26,516 countIowa: 9,170 countKansas: 11,665 countKentucky: 10,452 countLouisiana: 26,477 countMaine: 1,649 countMaryland: 29,019 countMassachusetts: 25,975 countMichigan: 45,782 countMinnesota: 13,365 countMississippi: 8,411 countMissouri: 31,720 countMontana: 3,886 countNebraska: 5,661 countNevada: 19,924 countNew Hampshire: 2,668 countNew Jersey: 21,861 countNew Mexico: 14,585 countNew York: 74,315 countNorth Carolina: 37,767 countNorth Dakota: 1,905 countOhio: 35,759 countOklahoma: 17,855 countOregon: 10,983 countPennsylvania: 40,389 countRhode Island: 2,529 countSouth Carolina: 25,137 countSouth Dakota: 3,636 countTennessee: 42,459 countTexas: 121,064 countUtah: 7,406 countVermont: 851 countVirginia: 18,495 countWashington: 22,101 countWest Virginia: 6,633 countWisconsin: 17,716 countWyoming: 1,431 count
  • Under 4,000
  • 4,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 18K
  • 18K to 26K
  • 26K to 39K
  • 39K and over
count, 2016. Source: FBI, FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2016

California: 174,796 countCalifornia174,796Texas: 121,064 countTexas121,064Florida: 88,700 countFlorida88,700New York: 74,315 countNew York74,315Illinois: 56,054 countIllinois56,054Michigan: 45,782 countMichigan45,782Tennessee: 42,459 countTennessee42,459Pennsylvania: 40,389 countPennsylvania40,389Georgia: 40,268 countGeorgia40,268North Carolina: 37,767 countNorth Carolina37,767Ohio: 35,759 countOhio35,759Arizona: 32,542 countArizona32,542Missouri: 31,720 countMissouri31,720Maryland: 29,019 countMaryland29,019Indiana: 26,516 countIndiana26,516Louisiana: 26,477 countLouisiana26,477Massachusetts: 25,975 countMassachusetts25,975Alabama: 25,878 countAlabama25,878South Carolina: 25,137 countSouth Carolina25,137Washington: 22,101 countWashington22,101New Jersey: 21,861 countNew Jersey21,861Nevada: 19,924 countNevada19,924Colorado: 19,030 countColorado19,030Virginia: 18,495 countVirginia18,495Oklahoma: 17,855 countOklahoma17,855Wisconsin: 17,716 countWisconsin17,716Arkansas: 16,563 countArkansas16,563New Mexico: 14,585 countNew Mexico14,585Minnesota: 13,365 countMinnesota13,365Kansas: 11,665 countKansas11,665Oregon: 10,983 countOregon10,983Kentucky: 10,452 countKentucky10,452Iowa: 9,170 countIowa9,170Mississippi: 8,411 countMississippi8,411District of Columbia: 8,236 countDistrict of Columbia8,236Connecticut: 8,169 countConnecticut8,169Utah: 7,406 countUtah7,406West Virginia: 6,633 countWest Virginia6,633Alaska: 5,966 countAlaska5,966Nebraska: 5,661 countNebraska5,661Delaware: 4,859 countDelaware4,859Montana: 3,886 countMontana3,886Idaho: 3,876 countIdaho3,876South Dakota: 3,636 countSouth Dakota3,636Hawaii: 3,452 countHawaii3,452New Hampshire: 2,668 countNew Hampshire2,668Rhode Island: 2,529 countRhode Island2,529North Dakota: 1,905 countNorth Dakota1,905Maine: 1,649 countMaine1,649Wyoming: 1,431 countWyoming1,431Vermont: 851 countVermont851California: 174,796 countCalifornia174,796Texas: 121,064 countTexas121,064Florida: 88,700 countFlorida88,700New York: 74,315 countNew York74,315Illinois: 56,054 countIllinois56,054Michigan: 45,782 countMichigan45,782Tennessee: 42,459 countTennessee42,459Pennsylvania: 40,389 countPennsylvania40,389Georgia: 40,268 countGeorgia40,268North Carolina: 37,767 countNorth Carolina37,767Ohio: 35,759 countOhio35,759Arizona: 32,542 countArizona32,542Missouri: 31,720 countMissouri31,720Maryland: 29,019 countMaryland29,019Indiana: 26,516 countIndiana26,516Louisiana: 26,477 countLouisiana26,477Massachusetts: 25,975 countMassachusetts25,975Alabama: 25,878 countAlabama25,878South Carolina: 25,137 countSouth Carolina25,137Washington: 22,101 countWashington22,101New Jersey: 21,861 countNew Jersey21,861Nevada: 19,924 countNevada19,924Colorado: 19,030 countColorado19,030Virginia: 18,495 countVirginia18,495Oklahoma: 17,855 countOklahoma17,855Wisconsin: 17,716 countWisconsin17,716Arkansas: 16,563 countArkansas16,563New Mexico: 14,585 countNew Mexico14,585Minnesota: 13,365 countMinnesota13,365Kansas: 11,665 countKansas11,665Oregon: 10,983 countOregon10,983Kentucky: 10,452 countKentucky10,452Iowa: 9,170 countIowa9,170Mississippi: 8,411 countMississippi8,411District of Columbia: 8,236 countDistrict of Columbia8,236Connecticut: 8,169 countConnecticut8,169Utah: 7,406 countUtah7,406West Virginia: 6,633 countWest Virginia6,633Alaska: 5,966 countAlaska5,966Nebraska: 5,661 countNebraska5,661Delaware: 4,859 countDelaware4,859Montana: 3,886 countMontana3,886Idaho: 3,876 countIdaho3,876South Dakota: 3,636 countSouth Dakota3,636Hawaii: 3,452 countHawaii3,452New Hampshire: 2,668 countNew Hampshire2,668Rhode Island: 2,529 countRhode Island2,529North Dakota: 1,905 countNorth Dakota1,905Maine: 1,649 countMaine1,649Wyoming: 1,431 countWyoming1,431Vermont: 851 countVermont851
count. Source: FBI, FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2016
count		Change on 2015
1California174,796+4.7%
2Texas121,064+7%
3Florida88,700-5.3%
4New York74,315-1.1%
5Illinois56,054+12.7%
6Michigan45,782+9.8%
7Tennessee42,459+4%
8Pennsylvania40,389+0.1%
9Georgia40,268+3.5%
10North Carolina37,767+8.7%
11Ohio35,759+4%
12Arizona32,542+16.4%
13Missouri31,720+4.7%
14Maryland29,019+3%
15Indiana26,516+4.5%
16Louisiana26,477+5.1%
17Massachusetts25,975-1.8%
18Alabama25,878+12.7%
19South Carolina25,137+2.8%
20Washington22,101+7.8%
21New Jersey21,861-4.4%
22Nevada19,924-1%
23Colorado19,030+9.7%
24Virginia18,495+10.7%
25Oklahoma17,855+6.6%
26Wisconsin17,716+1%
27Arkansas16,563+5%
28New Mexico14,585+6.7%
29Minnesota13,365+0.3%
30Kansas11,665+1.6%
31Oregon10,983+2.8%
32Kentucky10,452+5.7%
33Iowa9,170+6.4%
34Mississippi8,411+2.7%
35District of Columbia8,236-3.5%
36Connecticut8,169+2.9%
37Utah7,406+3.8%
38West Virginia6,633+3.7%
39Alaska5,966+10.7%
40Nebraska5,661+9.6%
41Delaware4,859+2.1%
42Montana3,886+6.6%
43Idaho3,876+7.9%
44South Dakota3,636+10.1%
45Hawaii3,452-17.8%
46New Hampshire2,668-0.9%
47Rhode Island2,529-1.4%
48North Dakota1,905-2.3%
49Maine1,649-4.5%
50Wyoming1,431+10.1%
51Vermont851+13.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Estimated number of violent crimes: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault known to law enforcement. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Rape is counted under the revised definition from 2013 and the legacy definition before. FBI estimates for the whole population: agencies that did not report, or reported part of the year, are filled in by the FBI. The FBI revises earlier years in each annual release, and from 2021 the estimates are built from incident-based (NIBRS) reports. The national series has no values for 2017 to 2020 in the FBI estimates file.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program. (2026). FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime (US states by violent crimes, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads

MLA 9

FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime, US states by violent crimes, 2016. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 14 Aug. 2026, https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2016. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program. 2026. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. US states by violent crimes, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2016.

Harvard

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program (2026) FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime, US states by violent crimes, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_us_states_by_violent_2016,
  author = {{Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program}},
  title = {{FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime: US states by violent crimes, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2016. Publisher attribution: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/\#/pages/downloads. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program
TI  - FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime: US states by violent crimes, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/14
PB  - Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest violent crimes?

California, with 174,796 in 2016, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Which state has the lowest violent crimes?

Vermont, with 851 in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

US states: more rankings