Albuquerque, NM Is Among the Most Dangerous US Metro Areas

The U.S. violent crime rate — an annual, population-adjusted measure of cases of rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide — climbed by 5% in 2020. The increase was driven by a rise in aggravated assault and, most notably, a historic 29% surge in homicides that made 2020 the deadliest year in the United States since the mid-1990s.

Despite the largest single-year increase in homicides on record, the overall violent crime rate in 2020 remains relatively low by historical standards. There were 1.3 million violent crimes reported in the U.S. in 2020, or 399 for every 100,000 people. For context, the violent crime rate ranged between 523 and 758 incidents per 100,000 throughout the 1990s.

Of course, crime is a local phenomenon influenced by a wide range of factors. As a result, violent crime rates in the U.S. can vary considerably from place to place — and in some metro areas, rates of violence far exceed the nation-level highs recorded in decades past.

In a break from the national trend, the violent crime rate is declining in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Still, despite the 3.6% decline, the local violent crime rate stands at 1,006 incidents per 100,000 people, well more than double the national rate and the highest of any Western state in the lower 48.

Local officials tie high levels of violence in the city to homelessness and financial hardship. An estimated 15.5% of the metro area population live below the poverty line, compared to 12.3% of all Americans.

Metro areas are ranked on their violent crime rate using data from the FBI’s 2020 Uniform Crime Report. Additional data on specific crimes are also from the 2020 FBI UCR. Poverty rates are one-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.