Data / Rankings / Violent crimes / US states

US states by violent crimes

California had the highest violent crimes of 51 states in 2021, at 188,343. Vermont had the lowest, at 1,255. The median was 17,483 and the figure for the United States was 1.28 million. Source: the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest188,343California
Lowest1,255Vermont
Median17,48351 states
United States1,284,885History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 17,590 countAlaska: 5,573 countArizona: 30,922 countArkansas: 21,271 countCalifornia: 188,343 countColorado: 27,916 countConnecticut: 6,109 countDelaware: 4,212 countDistrict of Columbia: 6,362 countFlorida: 73,632 countGeorgia: 37,741 countHawaii: 3,965 countIdaho: 4,585 countIllinois: 43,739 countIndiana: 22,661 countIowa: 9,434 countKansas: 13,071 countKentucky: 12,121 countLouisiana: 30,666 countMaine: 1,555 countMaryland: 26,866 countMassachusetts: 21,043 countMichigan: 49,295 countMinnesota: 17,643 countMississippi: 7,532 countMissouri: 32,348 countMontana: 5,197 countNebraska: 5,831 countNevada: 13,592 countNew Hampshire: 1,800 countNew Jersey: 17,003 countNew Mexico: 17,374 countNew York: 61,227 countNorth Carolina: 44,328 countNorth Dakota: 2,150 countOhio: 37,341 countOklahoma: 17,483 countOregon: 14,526 countPennsylvania: 36,664 countRhode Island: 2,199 countSouth Carolina: 26,685 countSouth Dakota: 3,511 countTennessee: 46,813 countTexas: 133,909 countUtah: 8,653 countVermont: 1,255 countVirginia: 19,526 countWashington: 25,987 countWest Virginia: 5,205 countWisconsin: 19,134 countWyoming: 1,297 count
  • Under 4,000
  • 4,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 17K
  • 17K to 26K
  • 26K to 38K
  • 38K and over
count, 2021. Source: FBI, FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

California: 188,343 countCalifornia188,343Texas: 133,909 countTexas133,909Florida: 73,632 countFlorida73,632New York: 61,227 countNew York61,227Michigan: 49,295 countMichigan49,295Tennessee: 46,813 countTennessee46,813North Carolina: 44,328 countNorth Carolina44,328Illinois: 43,739 countIllinois43,739Georgia: 37,741 countGeorgia37,741Ohio: 37,341 countOhio37,341Pennsylvania: 36,664 countPennsylvania36,664Missouri: 32,348 countMissouri32,348Arizona: 30,922 countArizona30,922Louisiana: 30,666 countLouisiana30,666Colorado: 27,916 countColorado27,916Maryland: 26,866 countMaryland26,866South Carolina: 26,685 countSouth Carolina26,685Washington: 25,987 countWashington25,987Indiana: 22,661 countIndiana22,661Arkansas: 21,271 countArkansas21,271Massachusetts: 21,043 countMassachusetts21,043Virginia: 19,526 countVirginia19,526Wisconsin: 19,134 countWisconsin19,134Minnesota: 17,643 countMinnesota17,643Alabama: 17,590 countAlabama17,590Oklahoma: 17,483 countOklahoma17,483New Mexico: 17,374 countNew Mexico17,374New Jersey: 17,003 countNew Jersey17,003Oregon: 14,526 countOregon14,526Nevada: 13,592 countNevada13,592Kansas: 13,071 countKansas13,071Kentucky: 12,121 countKentucky12,121Iowa: 9,434 countIowa9,434Utah: 8,653 countUtah8,653Mississippi: 7,532 countMississippi7,532District of Columbia: 6,362 countDistrict of Columbia6,362Connecticut: 6,109 countConnecticut6,109Nebraska: 5,831 countNebraska5,831Alaska: 5,573 countAlaska5,573West Virginia: 5,205 countWest Virginia5,205Montana: 5,197 countMontana5,197Idaho: 4,585 countIdaho4,585Delaware: 4,212 countDelaware4,212Hawaii: 3,965 countHawaii3,965South Dakota: 3,511 countSouth Dakota3,511Rhode Island: 2,199 countRhode Island2,199North Dakota: 2,150 countNorth Dakota2,150New Hampshire: 1,800 countNew Hampshire1,800Maine: 1,555 countMaine1,555Wyoming: 1,297 countWyoming1,297Vermont: 1,255 countVermont1,255California: 188,343 countCalifornia188,343Texas: 133,909 countTexas133,909Florida: 73,632 countFlorida73,632New York: 61,227 countNew York61,227Michigan: 49,295 countMichigan49,295Tennessee: 46,813 countTennessee46,813North Carolina: 44,328 countNorth Carolina44,328Illinois: 43,739 countIllinois43,739Georgia: 37,741 countGeorgia37,741Ohio: 37,341 countOhio37,341Pennsylvania: 36,664 countPennsylvania36,664Missouri: 32,348 countMissouri32,348Arizona: 30,922 countArizona30,922Louisiana: 30,666 countLouisiana30,666Colorado: 27,916 countColorado27,916Maryland: 26,866 countMaryland26,866South Carolina: 26,685 countSouth Carolina26,685Washington: 25,987 countWashington25,987Indiana: 22,661 countIndiana22,661Arkansas: 21,271 countArkansas21,271Massachusetts: 21,043 countMassachusetts21,043Virginia: 19,526 countVirginia19,526Wisconsin: 19,134 countWisconsin19,134Minnesota: 17,643 countMinnesota17,643Alabama: 17,590 countAlabama17,590Oklahoma: 17,483 countOklahoma17,483New Mexico: 17,374 countNew Mexico17,374New Jersey: 17,003 countNew Jersey17,003Oregon: 14,526 countOregon14,526Nevada: 13,592 countNevada13,592Kansas: 13,071 countKansas13,071Kentucky: 12,121 countKentucky12,121Iowa: 9,434 countIowa9,434Utah: 8,653 countUtah8,653Mississippi: 7,532 countMississippi7,532District of Columbia: 6,362 countDistrict of Columbia6,362Connecticut: 6,109 countConnecticut6,109Nebraska: 5,831 countNebraska5,831Alaska: 5,573 countAlaska5,573West Virginia: 5,205 countWest Virginia5,205Montana: 5,197 countMontana5,197Idaho: 4,585 countIdaho4,585Delaware: 4,212 countDelaware4,212Hawaii: 3,965 countHawaii3,965South Dakota: 3,511 countSouth Dakota3,511Rhode Island: 2,199 countRhode Island2,199North Dakota: 2,150 countNorth Dakota2,150New Hampshire: 1,800 countNew Hampshire1,800Maine: 1,555 countMaine1,555Wyoming: 1,297 countWyoming1,297Vermont: 1,255 countVermont1,255
count. Source: FBI, FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: violent crime. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1California188,343+8.2%
2Texas133,909+2.2%
3Florida73,632-11.7%
4New York61,227-13%
5Michigan49,295+3.5%
6Tennessee46,813+1%
7North Carolina44,328-0.3%
8Illinois43,739-18.4%
9Georgia37,741-11.9%
10Ohio37,341+3.4%
11Pennsylvania36,664-26.4%
12Missouri32,348-3.1%
13Arizona30,922-14.1%
14Louisiana30,666+3.2%
15Colorado27,916+13.6%
16Maryland26,866+10.9%
17South Carolina26,685-3.6%
18Washington25,987+15%
19Indiana22,661-6.2%
20Arkansas21,271+4.5%
21Massachusetts21,043-1.2%
22Virginia19,526+8.9%
23Wisconsin19,134+1.4%
24Minnesota17,643+12.4%
25Alabama17,590-21.2%
26Oklahoma17,483-4.2%
27New Mexico17,374+6%
28New Jersey17,003-2%
29Oregon14,526+17.3%
30Nevada13,592-5.9%
31Kansas13,071+5.5%
32Kentucky12,121+4.5%
33Iowa9,434-1.7%
34Utah8,653+2.1%
35Mississippi7,532-12.8%
36District of Columbia6,362-10.7%
37Connecticut6,109-5.4%
38Nebraska5,831-9.9%
39Alaska5,573-9%
40West Virginia5,205-18.1%
41Montana5,197+2.4%
42Idaho4,585+3.5%
43Delaware4,212-1.2%
44Hawaii3,965+10.9%
45South Dakota3,511-21.6%
46Rhode Island2,199-9.9%
47North Dakota2,150-14.6%
48New Hampshire1,800-10%
49Maine1,555+6.1%
50Wyoming1,297-4.9%
51Vermont1,255+16.1%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_us_states_by_violent_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/violent-crimes/us-states?period=2021.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by violent crimes using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"violent_crimes","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=violent_crimes&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest violent crimes?

California, with 188,343 in 2021, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Which state has the lowest violent crimes?

Vermont, with 1,255 in 2021.

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