Special Report

How the Violent Crime Rate in Missouri Compares to Other States

Samuel Stebbins

Published: October 4, 2021 11:54 am

Last Updated: October 4, 2021 1:54 pm

Violent crime — a broad category of offenses that includes rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide — is on the rise in the United States. According to FBI data, there were a total of 1.3 million violent offenses reported in 2020, or 388 for every 100,000 people — a 5% increase from 2019.

The uptick was led by a spike in homicide. The number of murders surged by nearly 30%, from 16,669 in 2019 to 21,570 in 2020, the largest year-over-year increase on record. The spike in murders came during a year of national turmoil marked by coronavirus lockdowns, mass protests against police misconduct, and a sharp rise in gun sales. These are the states buying the most guns.

Despite the increase, the national violent crime rate remains well below the highs reported in the 1990s. Still, crime is ultimately a local phenomenon, and in some parts of the country, violence is much more common than in others.

There were 543 violent crimes for every 100,000 people in Missouri in 2020 — the highest violent crime rate in the Midwest and sixth highest nationwide. Over the last year, the violent crime rate in Missouri climbed by 9.6%, nearly double the national increase.

Crime rates in the state are driven up by high concentrations of violence in some cities. Both the Springfield and Cape Girardeau metropolitan areas’ violent crime rates — at 632 and 550 incidents for every 100,000 residents, respectively — are far higher than national average.

All crime data used in this story is from the FBI and is for the year 2020.