Each year, we assemble sex offender data from all 50 states to see which regions have the largest registries and how rates of sex-related offenses are changing across the country. After a decline between 2021 and 2022, the total number of sex offenders has risen by about three percent this year.
In addition to searching every state’s sex offender database, we also analyzed publicly available data, including crime and child abuse statistics, to determine if patterns exist regarding sexual violence in the U.S.
Key findings:
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According to our analysis, more than 786,000 people are currently listed on states’ sex offender registries (as of February 2023). Compared to our 2022 research, the number of registered sex offenders in the U.S. has climbed by about three percent.
These numbers fluctuate throughout the year as people are added to and removed from registries. Since we began this research in 2019, this is the highest number of individuals listed on states’ registries; generally, at least 750,000 people are listed at any given time.
With more than 100,000 individuals, Texas has the largest list of registered sex offenders in the country, and California ranks second with nearly 62,000. Just over 1,000 people are included on the District of Columbia’s sex offender registry, making it the smallest in the nation. Vermont and Rhode Island also have just over 1,000 people each. Please see our data appendix at the end of this article to discover rates for all 50 states and D.C.
States with the most registered sex offenders | States with the most registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents | ||
---|---|---|---|
Texas | 100,989 | Oregon | 772 |
California | 61,764 | Arkansas | 606 |
New York | 42,871 | Alaska | 454 |
Michigan | 40,176 | South Dakota | 448 |
Illinois | 33,269 | Wisconsin | 447 |
Oregon | 32,715 | Wyoming | 429 |
Florida | 32,136 | Delaware | 418 |
North Carolina | 27,684 | Michigan | 400 |
Wisconsin | 26,353 | South Carolina | 396 |
Pennsylvania | 25,639 | Kansas | 392 |
*As of February 2023
While the two biggest states lead the nation when it comes to sheer numbers of registered sex offenders, after adjusting for differences in population, the picture changes. Oregon, which ranks sixth for the overall number of sex offenders, ranks first for sex offenders per 100,000 residents.
There are several reasons for Oregon’s high rates: first, like several other states, Oregon only maps the addresses of the most severe offenders, but unlike other states, it publishes the total number of all offenders regardless of the severity of their crime. Additionally, Oregon law requires some sex offenders to remain on the state registry for life, and over 25 different offenses can lead to registration. These factors could contribute to its large registry rolls. Oregon’s high rate of registered offenders may also indicate that people in Oregon report sex offenses frequently, and their legal system is able to prosecute large numbers of offenders.
Though Arkansas’ public registry only includes the highest-risk offenders, it still had the nation’s second-highest rate of registered sex offenders. Arkansas was followed closely by Alaska, which had 454 registered sex offenders per capita. New Jersey, which ranks 39th for the raw number of registered offenders, has the lowest population-adjusted rate in the nation. However, New Jersey’s public registry only contains information about the offenders with the highest risks of re-offending, and does not list the addresses of people who committed “less severe” sex offenses.
In addition to varying over the course of a year as people are added to or removed from their respective state registries, it’s also important to note that states may make legislative changes that affect how their offender registries work, making numbers rise or fall. As mentioned, some states only publicly list offenders who committed the most serious crimes or offenders who are most likely to repeat their crimes.
Since we began conducting this research in 2019, the number of registered sex offenders has risen by several thousand, while rates have varied based on population changes. In fact, while the total number of sex offenders is higher this year than it was in 2021, the population-adjusted rate is slightly lower.
U.S. registered sex offenders by year, number and rate per 100,000 people
Year | Total offenders | Rate per 100,000 |
---|---|---|
2019 | 752,167 | 230 |
2021 | 780,407 | 238 |
2022 | 767,023 | 231 |
2023 | 786,838 | 237 |
Note: Data collected in October 2019, May 2021, April 2022, and February 2023
Many types of convictions can land a person on a state’s offender registry, and specifics vary by state. However, rape and sexual assault are typically among the offenses that lead to registration as a sex offender.
The most recently published state-level data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is from 2020, which makes comparisons to current-year sex offender registry data problematic. However, the FBI published more recent data from select cities nationwide for 2021. Among cities that reported their crime data, here are those with the highest rates of rape per 10,000 residents:
Per 10,000 residents, among cities with populations of 10,000 or more
City | Rate Per 10K residents |
---|---|
Ypsilanti, Michigan | 27.5 |
The Colony, Texas | 23.9 |
Claremore, Oklahoma | 23.2 |
Evanston, Wyoming | 22.6 |
Humble, Texas | 22.5 |
Mobile, Alabama | 20.0 |
Glenwood Springs, Colorado | 19.4 |
Ottumwa, Iowa | 19.3 |
St. Joseph, Missouri | 19.1 |
Galveston, Texas | 18.3 |
Mitchell, South Dakota | 17.8 |
South Salt Lake, Utah | 17.3 |
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | 17.2 |
Pueblo, Colorado | 17.0 |
Paris, Texas | 16.9 |
Note: Among cities reporting data to FBI
The FBI does not report statistics on sexual abuse of children specifically, but it is another primary type of offense that typically leads to sex offender registration. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports annual statistics regarding the mistreatment of children, including sexual abuse.
Nationally, about 10 percent of all victims of child maltreatment, the official term HHS uses, were victims of sexual abuse. That makes child sex abuse the third-most-common type of child abuse, behind neglect (76 percent) and physical abuse (16 percent).
Just over 59,000 children were reported sex abuse victims in 2021 (the most recent available year), a slight increase from the number of victims reported in 2020. Accordingly, the population-adjusted rate of child sex abuse rose slightly between 2020 and 2021, climbing about three points to 82 per 100,000. In several states, however, this rate was much higher.
States with most minor sex abuse victims per 100,000 children | |
---|---|
Arkansas | 253 |
Alabama | 191 |
Mississippi | 177 |
Ohio | 167 |
Indiana | 161 |
Tennessee | 155 |
Illinois | 153 |
Maryland | 152 |
Utah | 141 |
Alaska | 127 |
Child sex abuse was reported in Arkansas at a rate of 253 per 100,000 children in 2021, the highest rate in the nation. This figure is more than three times the overall national rate. Among states that reported data (Arizona’s data was unavailable), Hawaii had the lowest rate, and 29 other states also had rates lower than the national average.
The effectiveness of offender registries is a matter of debate. In many states, the registries are not used the way they were designed, which was to protect people from habitual sex offenders. And some people in the criminal justice reform movement suggest that these registries sometimes do more harm than good in our hyper-connected world. Reglicize information about dangerous criminals, but also about people who may have completed their criminal sentences or engaged in consensual sex or sexting as teens.
Still, when used responsibly, sex offender registries can safeguard families and vulnerable people in communities. They also provide a way to measure our progress toward reducing sex crimes in our society. With an increase in child sex abuse and the total number of registered sex offenders, it’s clear we have a way to go to rid our society from the danger of sexual crimes.
If you or a loved one has experienced sexual assault or abuse and needs support, visit Rainn.org to find resources in your area.
We searched each state’s online sex offender registry to calculate the number of people listed as of 2023. For Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, information was unavailable on state registry websites. In these cases, we contacted law enforcement public information officers and other state officials who provided us with the most updated numbers for their states.
The child sex abuse data referenced in our report was from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2021 Child Maltreatment report. To determine the number of cases per 100,000 residents under 18, we compared the data with the 2021 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The rape data was collected from the 2021 Offenses Known to Law Enforcement published in the FBI Uniform Crime Report. Limited data for 2021 were available for California, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania. We only included cities with populations greater than 10,000. To determine the number of cases per 10,000 residents, we compared the data with the 2021 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Please note these are not lists of every person who has ever committed, been arrested for, or convicted of a sex offense.
These figures change on an ongoing basis as states have varying requirements regarding who has to register and how long their names must remain on the registry. Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and Montana’s public registries contain sex offenders and others convicted of violent and/or drug-related crimes. For Kansas and Montana, our figures only include sex offenders. In Minnesota, the count includes individuals who are considered predatory offenders.
It’s also important to note that each state decides which offenders are listed on their public registries based on the severity of their crimes and their risks for re-offending. Please note that many go unreported due to the sensitive nature of these crimes, many go unreported, and the actual figures could be much higher.
State | Total registered sex offenders as of February 2023 | Number of registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents, 2023 | Number of child sex abuse victims per 100,000 residents under 18, 2021 |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 11,157 | 220 | 191 |
Alaska | 3,331 | 454 | 127 |
Arizona | 9,659 | 131 | Not available |
Arkansas | 18,456 | 606 | 253 |
California | 61,764 | 158 | 44 |
Colorado | 12,323 | 211 | 95 |
Connecticut | 5,929 | 164 | 54 |
Delaware | 4,253 | 418 | 105 |
District of Columbia | 1,014 | 151 | 28 |
Florida | 32,136 | 144 | 60 |
Georgia | 24,334 | 223 | 29 |
Hawaii | 3,055 | 212 | 24 |
Idaho | 5,141 | 265 | 49 |
Illinois | 33,269 | 264 | 153 |
Indiana | 13,258 | 194 | 161 |
Iowa | 6,545 | 204 | 91 |
Kansas | 11,511 | 392 | 70 |
Kentucky | 9,362 | 207 | 82 |
Louisiana | 13,196 | 287 | 31 |
Maine | 2,864 | 207 | 121 |
Maryland | 6,560 | 106 | 152 |
Massachusetts | 5,665 | 81 | 58 |
Michigan | 40,176 | 400 | 64 |
Minnesota | 18,328 | 321 | 110 |
Mississippi | 8,343 | 284 | 177 |
Missouri | 23,291 | 377 | 97 |
Montana | 2,953 | 267 | 38 |
Nebraska | 5,333 | 271 | 46 |
Nevada | 7,445 | 234 | 57 |
New Hampshire | 2,576 | 185 | 31 |
New Jersey | 4,645 | 50 | 30 |
New Mexico | 2,769 | 131 | 46 |
New York | 42,871 | 218 | 53 |
North Carolina | 27,684 | 259 | 47 |
North Dakota | 2,005 | 257 | 35 |
Ohio | 19,729 | 168 | 167 |
Oklahoma | 7,856 | 195 | 78 |
Oregon | 32,715 | 772 | 111 |
Pennsylvania | 25,639 | 198 | 79 |
Rhode Island | 1,416 | 129 | 62 |
South Carolina | 20,923 | 396 | 71 |
South Dakota | 4,080 | 448 | 37 |
Tennessee | 22,168 | 314 | 155 |
Texas | 100,989 | 336 | 101 |
Utah | 9,580 | 283 | 141 |
Vermont | 1,256 | 194 | 90 |
Virginia | 15,162 | 175 | 40 |
Washington | 6,986 | 90 | 31 |
West Virginia | 6,288 | 354 | 68 |
Wisconsin | 26,353 | 447 | 80 |
Wyoming | 2,497 | 429 | 36 |