2025 Crime Rates in U.S. Cities Report

National Violent and Property Crime Trends

Violent Crime Incidents (2023–2024)

Source: FBI Crime in the United States, Table 1

After peaking during the pandemic, violent crime has declined each year. Violent crime overall dropped by four percent in 2024, led by significant declines in murder, robbery, and rape.

Property Crime Incidents (2023–2024)

Source: FBI Crime in the United States, Table 1

Property crime also decreased eight percent year-over-year, with motor vehicle theft showing the most significant drop. However, not all cities enjoyed declines in any type of crime, and despite nationwide decreases in crime, some places still face soaring crime rates. Let’s explore which cities and towns struggle most with high crime.

Expert Examined

From Joshua Lee, Active-duty Police Sergeant

“Larceny, theft, and burglaries are the most common types of crime committed in nearly every city. The surprising fact is that many of these crimes can easily be stopped or deterred by responsible property owners. As a police officer, I remember responding to the same street that was burglarized twice in two months. I worked to install video cameras, security signage, and to clear shrubs and bushes that were making it very easy for a bad guy to hide. I reached out to a few neighbors more than a year later who told me they have not had any issues since they properly secured and monitored their property.”

Crime in Large Cities (Populations over 500,000)

Top 3 large cities with the highest violent crime rates

Murder (per 100,000 residents)

Rape (per 100,000 residents)

Aggravated Assault (per 100,000 residents)

Robbery (per 100,000 residents)

In 2024, Memphis, Tennessee recorded the highest murder rate among America's largest cities, overtaking Baltimore, which had topped the list in 2023. This shift reflects Memphis's ongoing struggle with systemic violence. However, there are signs of recent improvement: Memphis saw a 30 percent decrease in homicides by the end of 2024, with overall crime dropping to a 25-year low across major categories. Despite these improvements, Memphis has drawn federal attention, with President Trump placing Memphis “early on the list” of cities for potential federal intervention.

Baltimore, Maryland ranked second in murders while maintaining its position as the nation's leader in robbery rates. Baltimore's crime challenges stem from decades of economic decline, the opioid crisis, and other systemic issues highlighted by high-profile events like the 2015 killing of Freddie Gray the subsequent protests. However, the city has shown remarkable progress recently: as of mid-2025, robberies and auto thefts are down compared to the previous year, while the homicide clearance rate has jumped from 40.3 percent in 2020 to 68.2 percent in 2024, according to Mayor Brandon Scott.

Detroit, Michigan has the third-highest murder rate among cities of similar size. It also remained near the top across several violent crime categories, continuing its long struggle with high crime rates rooted in decades of economic decline, population loss, and inadequate resources following the city's 2013 bankruptcy.

Top 3 large cities with highest property crime rates

Burglary (per 100,000 residents)

Larceny-Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Motor Vehicle Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Seattle once again ranked worst in the nation for burglary, continuing a troubling trend that has persisted despite efforts to address property crime. Seattle's overall property crime rate of 5,007.6 per 100,000 residents is 184.5 percent higher than the national average, and the city ranked fourth most crime-ridden among the 30 largest U.S. cities in 2024, with a total crime rate of 5,782.7 incidents per 100,000 residents. However, there are signs of improvement: Washington state saw property crime decrease by over 13 percent in 2024.

Memphis appeared in the top three for nearly every category, including motor vehicle theft and larceny-theft, reflecting the city's comprehensive struggle with violent and property crimes. This pattern suggests underlying socioeconomic challenges that drive multiple forms of criminal activity.

Portland and Nashville also recorded very high larceny-theft rates, with Portland's challenges likely connected to ongoing issues with homelessness and drug-related crime that have affected the Pacific Northwest broadly. Portland's Hazelwood neighborhood alone reported 272 car thefts in 2024, with the Northwest District seeing 237.

Kansas City emerged as the top city for vehicle theft in 2024, primarily driven by a specific vulnerability in popular car models. The city recorded over 5,000 stolen auto reports in just the first eight months of 2024, with about half involving Kias and Hyundais, which are particularly easy to steal. Many of these stolen vehicles have been connected to illegal street racing and sideshows, particularly high-performance cars with “V8 supercharged drivetrains.”

Crime in Medium Cities (250,000–499,999 Residents)

Top 3 medium-sized cities with the highest violent crime rates

Murder (per 100,000 residents)

Rape (per 100,000 residents)

Aggravated Assault (per 100,000 residents)

Robbery (per 100,000 residents)

Though crime in the nation’s largest cities tends to drive the most headlines, cities of all sizes struggle with violent crime. Among medium-sized cities, St. Louis, Missouri had the highest murder rate in 2024. However, more recent reporting shows signs of hope: homicide rates in St. Louis have fallen approximately 22 percent in the first half of 2025 — the lowest mid-year murder numbers in more than a decade.

Anchorage (and Alaska more broadly) has long exceeded national averages for reported rape. Some of this may be due to higher reporting or more willingness to report, but also to challenges such as remote geography, limitations in law enforcement coverage, and delays in legal processing. A recent investigation found that many felony cases take five to 10 years to resolve in Anchorage, despite state laws mandating quicker trials.

Top 3 medium cities with highest property crime rates

Burglary (per 100,000 residents)

Larceny-Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Motor Vehicle Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Oakland topped the list in multiple property and violent crime categories, leading all medium-sized cities in aggravated assault, robbery, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. St. Louis continued to appear near the top of nearly every list, underscoring its long-standing crime struggles. Meanwhile, Cleveland had the highest burglary rate among medium-sized cities, in addition to its staggering violent crime rates.

Crime in Small Cities (100,000–249,999 Residents)

Small cities with the highest violent crime rates in 2024 tended to share risk factors like economic disinvestment, lack of policing resources, and social fragmentation. Some also have drug-trafficking corridors or legacy issues from industrial decline.

Top 3 small cities with the highest violent crime rates

Murder (per 100,000 residents)

Rape (per 100,000 residents)

Aggravated Assault (per 100,000 residents)

Robbery (per 100,000 residents)

Birmingham has long struggled with violence tied to poverty, gun access, and concentrated disadvantage. Thankfully, homicides have declined since 2024, but violent crime overall has increased, mainly because aggravated assault rose nearly 10 percent in the first half of 2025. To address the high rates of violent crime, particularly those involving firearms, Mayor Randall Woodfin put together a blueprint at the start of 2025 for deterrence and intervention. Interestingly, Birmingham did not rank in the top three for any other type of violent crime.

Inglewood, California had the highest robbery rate among small U.S. cities. Some of the factors that drive violent crime in the town are socioeconomic stress, neighborhood inequality, and the city’s proximity to major commercial and entertainment hubs like SoFi Stadium. Robberies are concentrated in retail corridors, even in places that should be safe, such as grocery stores. The local Costco has been the site of several armed robberies that sparked community alarm and calls for improved security.

Expert Examined

From Joshua Lee, Active-duty Police Sergeant

“Small towns do not equal fewer crimes. In fact, many small towns far surpass the national average for crime per 100,000 residents. I work in a large city with over 500,000 residents. Our crime is actually significantly less in comparison to a neighboring small town with about 80,000 residents.”

Top 3 small cities with highest property crime rates

Burglary (per 100,000 residents)

Larceny-Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Motor Vehicle Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Crime in Extra-Small Cities (10,000–99,999 Residents)

Top 3 extra-small cities with the highest violent crime rates (per 100,000 residents)

Murder (per 100,000 residents)

Rape (per 100,000 residents)

Aggravated Assault (per 100,000 residents)

Robbery (per 100,000 residents)

Among towns and extra-small cities, East Point, Georgia led the nation in murder rate, at nearly 79 murders per 100,000 residents. Its proximity to Atlanta may contribute to its soaring murder rates.

Emeryville, California is showing promising trends despite historically high rates. After seeing a significant drop in 2024, crime reports are down another 15 percent by mid-year 2025. However, the city still struggles with property crimes, especially robbery, as noted above.

Atlantic City, once a booming beach vacation town, has long dealt with crime due to economic decline, poverty, and high levels of corruption. It ranked 3rd among extra-small cities for robbery rates, but there are signs of improvement. Overall offenses, including homicides, in Atlantic City were down by more than 11 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The city has implemented initiatives like the Citywide Surveillance Camera Project, which are strengthening the city's crime-fighting tools, and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which aims to expand police patrols in high-tourism areas.

Top 3 extra-small cities with highest property crime rates

Burglary (per 100,000 residents)

Larceny-Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Motor Vehicle Theft (per 100,000 residents)

Extra-small cities had some of the highest crime rates in the nation overall. Tukwila, Washington and Emeryville, California ranked near the top for larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft, while Beeville and Lumberton reported extreme burglary rates.

Tukwila, in particular, has developed a reputation for having high crime rates, particularly motor vehicle theft and larceny. It’s a major retail hub, which creates a massive concentration of retail targets in a small city of only about 21,000 residents.

Our Data

This project analyzed the FBI’s Crime in the United States (CIUS) estimates from 2024, the latest year available. Particularly, we explored Table 8, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement. The data used in creating this table were from all city and town law enforcement agencies submitting 12 months of complete offense data for 2024.

To calculate the rates of crimes in each state, we divided the number of crimes reported by local law enforcement agencies by the population of the cities represented by those agencies. Then, we multiplied that number by 100,000. Please note that for 2024, limited data were available for Florida.