Home Security Statistics 2024

Key Statistics

• Robbery incidents in the U.S. declined by 2.3 percent between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024.
• Larceny theft continues to be the most prevalent type of property crime, with 4.3 million reported incidents in 2022.
• One in 180 packages get stolen, with 119 million reported package thefts in 2023. Package theft is a growing concern.
• Nearly half (48 percent) of all violent crimes occur at a residence, highlighting the importance of security systems not just for preventing property crime.
• Home fire injuries occur at an alarming rate of once every 53 minutes. A fire-related death is reported every three hours and 14 minutes.
• Having any type of smoke alarm reduces the fire-related death rate by at least 30 percent. That improves to 71 percent in homes with hardwired smoke alarms that have battery backup.

Latest Statistics on Robbery, Burglary, and Theft

Reports published by the FBI are a great resource for robbery, burglary, and theft statistics, but the latest published data on those crimes was for 2022.² If you’re unclear on the difference between robberies and burglaries, check out our burglary vs. robbery breakdown.

Robberies increased by only 1 percent from 2021 to 2022, and larceny theft remained the most common property crime. There were 4.3 million larceny theft incidents in 2022. The FBI also published demographic information on who was the victim of the crimes.

• 23 percent of property crime victims were 30 to 39 years old.
• 21 percent were 20 to 29 years old.
• Victims knew the offender in 79 percent of cases.
• Males represented 55 percent of the victims of property theft.
• Females represented 44 percent of the victims of property theft.

However, 2022 was an unusual year. It’s when the government started lifting COVID lockdowns. It’s possible that easing movement restrictions and the population’s gradual return to on-site work could have affected those numbers.

We investigated further to understand today’s landscape. Recently, we found a report by the Department of Justice that publishes quarterly updates on robberies in the United States.³ According to the report, robbery cases declined by 2.3 percent between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

In addition to robbery statistics, we found package theft statistics for 2023.⁴ Here are a few highlights:

• One out of 180 packages gets stolen, and there were 119 million package thefts in 2023.
• In the third quarter of 2023 alone, 17 percent of Americans experienced package theft.
• There is a growing concern about package theft among Americans, with 88 percent of the population saying they are at least slightly concerned about it.

Total Value of Stolen Items in the United States

In addition to the number of incidents, the FBI also publishes data on the value of goods stolen. In 2022 alone, the total value of stolen property was over $463.5 billion. More concerningly, only 8 percent of stolen items were ever recovered.

To clarify, that’s 8 percent of the number of items stolen, not the value. There is no data available on the value of recovered stolen goods. The rate of recovered items also varies based on the type of item stolen, which means the percentage of value most likely does not match the percentage of items. The method of theft and the quality of the law enforcement agency conducting the investigation also impacts recovery rates.

Burglar Motivations and Tactics

Although the latest reputable study of burglar motivations and tactics was conducted in 2013, the findings have not been contested.⁵ We read the entire 64-page study to find the most important burglary statistics for you. Here’s what stood out to us:

• The top three factors burglars use to choose a target are the home’s location, the number of people in the home, and signs of security measures such as alarm signs, dogs, and cameras. Our list of the best security cameras covers the top cameras for deterring crime.
• Before a break-in attempt, 83 percent of burglars look for an alarm and 60 percent would look for a new target if they found signs of an alarm.
• Only 13 percent of burglars would continue an attempted burglary if they discovered an alarm during the attempt. More than half of the burglars always stopped the attempt if they detected an alarm, while 31 percent sometimes retreated.
• Most burglaries were committed to acquire drugs or money, which was often used for drugs.
• Open windows or doors were the most common entry points for burglars. Forcing open windows or doors closely followed.
• Only 12 percent of burglars usually planned their invasion, while 41 percent of burglaries were conducted on the spur of the moment.
• Household larceny and burglary victimization rates have seasonal variations, with summer having the highest rates.⁶

Violent Crime Statistics

Home security systems are for more than just protecting property. They’re also for protecting your and your family’s safety. The FBI published the numbers below in 2022 within the same dataset as the robbery, burglary, and theft statistics. We sorted the database for demographics, relations between the victim and perpetrator, and links with other crimes. Here are the latest insights on violent crime:

• About 381 per 100,000 people were victims of violent crime across the U.S. in 2022. That represents a 1.6 percent decrease from 2021. Property crimes occur more frequently, at about 1,954 property crimes per 100,000 people.
• 48 percent of violent crimes occurred at a home or apartment.
• 18 percent of violent crime offenders don’t know their victims, which means 82 percent of violent crime offenders know their victims. 13 percent of offenders are acquaintances of their victims.
• Most violent crime involves the use of a weapon. Only 8 percent of incidents did not involve the use of weapons.
• In 24 percent of violent crimes, the destruction, damage, or vandalism of property was also involved.
• Males and females are almost equally likely to fall victim. Males made up 51 percent of violent crime victims, while females made up about 48 percent.
• Teenagers (anyone between 10 and 19 years old) committed 15 percent of violent crimes.

Home Fire Statistics

Security systems also aim to protect homeowners and their families from home hazards, the most common of which is fire.

A fire department responds to a fire in the U.S. every 21 seconds and to a home-structure fire every 88 seconds.⁷ More chilling, though, a home fire injury occurs every 53 minutes and a death every three hours and 14 minutes. That’s nearly eight deaths and over 25 injuries per day.

To extend those numbers through the year:

• 1.5 million fires in the U.S. each year
• 13,250 fire injuries
• 3,790 civilian deaths caused by home fires

Those fires damage property, too, with an estimated loss of $18 billion in 2022.

Fires primarily cause injury or loss to people in residential homes and apartments. Even though those structures accounted for 25 percent of the total number of fires, 72 percent of civilian fire deaths and 75 percent of fire injuries occur in them.

Larger facilities have stricter fire-safety requirements, such as automatic extinguishing systems (AES) that significantly reduce the number of deaths and injuries. Safety measures for homes continue to improve, as shown by the 5 percent decrease in civilian fire deaths and 9 percent decrease in fire injuries despite a 7 percent increase in home-structure fires. Cooking is one of the most common causes of fires, accounting for 44 percent of home blazes across the U.S.⁸

There were smoke alarms in 74 percent of the homes that reported fires from 2018 to 2022.⁹ That is one of the most important safety factors, considering 59 percent of fire deaths occur at properties without smoke alarms (43 percent) or with malfunctioning fire alarms (16 percent). That’s why we put installing them at the top of our fire prevention and safety guide.

We also looked at the safety of different types of fire alarms and AES by comparing the death rate per 1,000 reported fires to homes without smoke alarms or AES.

The data shows that having smoke alarms and an AES is the most effective way to avoid fire-related deaths. As home safety experts, however, we don’t expect everyone to install an AES. The best alternative is to install hardwired smoke alarms with battery backups. They are more accessible and more than twice as effective as battery-powered smoke alarms.

Staying Safe At Home

When we think of home security and safety, we think of protecting our home against home invaders and burglars. Security systems do that well, as 60 percent of convicted burglars said they looked for a new target if they saw a security system, according to a report by the Alarm Industry Research and Education Foundation.¹⁰

But the best home security systems take things a step further by incorporating environmental protections. When we tested ADT, for instance, we appreciated the premium smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that sounded during an alert and contacted the company’s emergency response.

Our research has shown that installing a security system has many benefits. It’s still one of the most effective ways to ensure home safety and security, whether from property crime, violent crime, or safety hazards such as fire.