The Best and Worst Cities in Alaska for Crime

Statewide Crime Trends

For many years, Alaska has had the unfortunate distinction of having one of the nation’s highest crime rates, and the latest data from the FBI shows that’s unfortunately still the case.

According to the FBI’s Crime in the U.S. figures for 2022 (the most recent year with complete crime information), Alaska had the nation’s second-highest rate of violent crimes. Violent crimes occurred in Alaska at nearly double the national rate.

On the other hand, while the state stands out for all the wrong reasons when it comes to violent crime, property crimes are less common in Alaska than they are in the U.S. overall. But that’s not to say that some areas of the state don’t have a higher-than-average risk for property crime. In fact, looking at property crime data for Alaska cities, an interesting and perhaps surprising detail jumps out: North Pole, Alaska, is fourth among all cities in the state for property crime. Perhaps Santa Claus should crackdown on petty theft near the workshop.
se note that crime statistics are not the sole measure of a city’s safety.

Property Crime in Alaska

When determining property crime rates in Alaska, we looked at larceny-theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft incidents.

• Alaska’s total property crime rate per 100,000 people is 1,789, which is slightly less than the national U.S. rate of 1,954 per 100,000.
• The state ranks 24th, putting it squarely in the middle when it comes to how common property crime is.
• Larceny continues to be the most common property crime in Alaska, as it is everywhere else in the country, with about 1,275 incidents per 100,000 people.

Violent Crime in Alaska

Murder/non-negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery are considered violent crimes by the FBI.

• Alaska’s violent crime rate is about 759 per 100,000 people.
• Alaska has the second-highest violent crime rate in the country. Alaska’s rate is only about 20 points behind New Mexico, which has the highest rate of violent crime of any state.
• Due to changes in how law enforcement agencies gather and report crime data, comparing specific rates from previous years isn’t possible, but Alaska has ranked among the states with the highest violent crime rates for many years. What’s behind this issue is no doubt a complex tapestry, but the state’s rape rate is almost double that of the next highest state (Arkansas). Rapes occur in Alaska at a rate of 134 per 100,000 people compared to second-place Arkansas, where the rate is 76 per 100,000.
• In addition to leading the nation in the frequency of rape, Alaska also ranked in the 10 worst states for its murder, aggravated assault, and robbery rates.

Our data

Our data comes from comprehensive reporting compiled by the FBI and accessed via the Crime Data Explorer website. Property and violent crime state figures were drawn from Table 5 of the 2022 Crime in the U.S. Report. Metropolitan figures were found in Table 6, Crime in the U.S. by Metropolitan Statistical Area. City-level figures were drawn from Table 8, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City. The population figures in that table are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2020.

Limitations: According to the FBI, the data in the publication tables may differ from those released on the Explorer Pages of the CDE. These variations are due to the difference in methodologies between the publication tables and data displayed on the CDE. Plea