Property Crime in New York

New York State’s population grew by about 825,000 people between the 2010 and 2020 Census reports, resulting in a growth rate of just over four percent. That’s well below average, but it does represent an increase from the 2010 Census figures.

One reason New York may be an attractive spot is that it has considerably lower-than-average rates of property crime. While violent crime understandably gets a lot of headlines, the reality is that property crime is a much bigger risk to the average person.

How has property crime changed in New York over the past decade, and which areas of the state are most prone to high property crime rates?

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At A Glance:

    • With #1 being the best, New York is ranked #6 for property crime out of 50 states + Washington, D.C.
    • You have a 1.37% chance of being a property crime victim in New York in the next 12 months.
    • New York’s property crime rate is 35% lower than the average crime rate in the United States.
    • Ocean Beach has the highest property crime rate in New York (108.4 incidents per 1,000 people).

 

  • Ocean Beach is a tiny village of fewer than 100 permanent residents informally dubbed the capital of Fire Island. Its population-adjusted property crime rate is based on a total of nine incidents.

 

New York’s property crime rate of 13.7 incidents per 1,000 people is a fraction of a point higher than that of neighboring New Jersey (13.4 per 1,000), while New York has a lower rate than every other neighboring state.

New York’s Most Current Property Crime Rates (2019)

  • Rate of Property Crime
    • New York average:: 13.7 crimes per 1,000 people
    • National average: 21.1 crimes per 1,000 people

Since 2010, the property crime rate in New York has tumbled by 30 percent, putting the state in ample company. In fact, only two states have seen property crime increase in that time (Alaska and North Dakota), and among those where property crime dropped, the average decline was 27 percent.

New York’s Overall Property Crime Trends (2010 – 2019)

    • Average Rate of Property Crime:
      • New York 10-year average: 16.77 crimes per 1,000 people
      • National 10-year average: 25.61 crimes per 1,000 people
    • -30% Has property crime increased or decreased during this time?
      • There was a 30% decrease in property crime in New York from 2010 as compared to 2019.
    • 2010 Which year had the highest rate of property crime in New York?:
      • The highest rate of property crime in New York was 2010 (19.6 crimes per 1,000 people)
    • 2019 Which year had the lowest rate of property crime in New York?:
      • The lowest rate of property crime in New York was 2019 (13.7 crimes per 1,000 people)

What incidents fall under the umbrella of property crime? Burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson are the four major property crime categories reported by the FBI. In every case, if the incident involves violence or threats of violence, it no longer is a property crime and is classified as a violent crime.

New York’s Property Crime Category Trends (2010 – 2019)

      • Which type of property crime occurred the most in New York over the past decade?
        • Larceny occurred more than any other property crime at a rate of 13.5 crimes per 1,000 people.
        • Average property crime rate by category
          • Average burglary rate: 2.5 crimes per 1,000 people
          • Average larceny rate: 13.5 crimes per 1,000 people
          • Average vehicle crime rate: 0.8 crimes per 1,000 people
          • Average arson rate: 0.1 crimes per 1,000 people
        • Note: There were no FBI estimates for arson rates, so we used all available data that was reported by individual cities in New York.
      • +23% Which types of property crime have increased during this time period?
        • All four types of property crime have fallen in New York since 2010, but the rate of decline in larceny was the slowest, 23%.
      • -58% Which types of property crime have decreased during this time period?
        • Burglary crime has decreased the most, declining 58%.

 

Law enforcement data from New York shows that crimes reported in the state in 2019 fell for the seventh straight year to their lowest levels since statewide reporting began in 1975. 

 

That said, New York is a unique state in that almost two in three residents live in the New York City metro area. About 122,000 property crimes were reported in New York City, according to the FBI’s data. With a population of more than eight million, that equates to a rate of about 15 incidents per 1,000 people.

 

Meanwhile, the population-adjusted rate in a place like Ellicott, where only about 5,000 people live, is more than three times higher. On the other hand, Johnson City, a village of about 14,000 in the Binghamton metro area, was the site of nearly 800 property crimes, while Binghamton proper had the fifth-highest property crime rate, nearly 43 incidents per 1,000 residents.

Top 5: Best Property Crime Rates (based on 2019 data)*:

  • Moriah, New York (Essex County)
  • Tuxedo, New York (Orange County)
  • Elmira, New York (Chemung County)
  • Coxsackie Village, New York (Greene County)
  • Kirkland, New York (Oneida County)

Bottom 5: Worst Property Crime Rates (based on 2019 data):

  • Ocean Beach, New York (Suffolk County)
  • Johnson City, New York (Broome County)
  • Ellicott, New York (Chautauqua County)
  • Lakewood-Busti, New York (Chautauqua County)
  • Binghamton, New York (Broome County)

* Excludes cities with zero property crime reported