How the Violent Crime Rate in New Jersey Compares to Other States

By Sam Stebbins Updated Oct 4, 1:48PM EDT · Published Oct 4, 11:54AM EDT

How the Violent Crime Rate in New Jersey Compares to Other States — © SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images

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.

New Jersey’s violent crime rate of 195 incidents per 100,000 people in 2020 is the lowest of any state outside of the New England region and fifth lowest overall.

Though New Jersey reported a 5.6% year-over-year decline in overall violent crime driven by declines the incidence of robbery and rape, it also reported a surge in homicide. There were 329 murders in the state in 2020, a more than 25% increase from 262 homicides in 2019.

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

Rank	State	Violent crimes per 100,000 people, 2020	Total violent crimes, 2020	Total homicides, 2020	1-yr. change in violent crime rate (%)
50	Maine	108.6	1,466	22	-5.7
49	New Hampshire	146.4	2,000	12	-4.0
48	Vermont	173.4	1,081	14	-14.3
47	Connecticut	181.6	6,459	140	-1.1
46	New Jersey	195.4	17,353	329	-5.6
45	Virginia	208.7	17,925	524	0.3
44	Rhode Island	230.8	2,440	32	4.4
43	Wyoming	234.2	1,364	18	7.8
42	Idaho	242.6	4,432	41	8.4
41	Hawaii	254.2	3,576	41	-11.0
40	Kentucky	259.1	11,600	323	19.3
39	Utah	260.7	8,471	102	10.6
38	Minnesota	277.5	15,698	190	17.4
37	Mississippi	291.2	8,638	315	4.8
36	Oregon	291.9	12,380	125	2.6
35	Washington	293.7	22,596	301	-0.1
34	Iowa	303.5	9,601	111	13.9
33	Ohio	308.8	36,104	820	5.3
32	Massachusetts	308.8	21,288	160	-5.7
31	Wisconsin	323.4	18,861	308	10.3
30	North Dakota	329.0	2,518	32	15.6
29	Nebraska	334.1	6,473	69	11.0
28	West Virginia	355.9	6,352	117	12.4
27	Indiana	357.7	24,161	505	-3.6
26	New York	363.8	70,339	808	1.4
25	Florida	383.6	83,368	1,290	1.4
24	Pennsylvania	389.5	49,793	1,009	27.1
23	Maryland	399.9	24,215	553	-12.0
22	Georgia	400.1	42,850	943	17.4
21	North Carolina	419.3	44,451	852	12.8
20	Colorado	423.1	24,570	294	11.1
19	Kansas	425.0	12,385	100	3.5
18	Illinois	425.9	53,612	1,151	4.7
17	Delaware	431.9	4,262	73	2.2
16	California	442.0	174,026	2,203	0.2
15	Texas	446.5	131,084	1,931	6.6
14	Alabama	453.6	22,322	471	-11.2
13	Oklahoma	458.6	18,255	296	6.2
12	Nevada	460.3	14,445	180	-6.8
11	Montana	469.8	5,077	54	16.0
10	Michigan	478.0	47,641	754	9.3
9	Arizona	484.8	35,980	513	6.5
8	South Dakota	501.4	4,476	40	25.7
7	South Carolina	530.7	27,691	549	3.8
6	Missouri	542.7	33,385	723	9.6
5	Louisiana	639.4	29,704	734	16.4
4	Arkansas	671.9	20,363	321	14.9
3	Tennessee	672.7	46,328	663	13.0
2	New Mexico	778.3	16,393	164	-6.5
1	Alaska	837.8	6,126	49	-3.4

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About the Author Sam Stebbins →

Sam Stebbins is a writer at 247WallSt.com where his primary focus is on government policy, politics, companies, and broad social and economic trends. Sam has been writing in the money and news verticals for over 8 years and holds a bachelor's degree from Hobart College, which he earned in 2010. Sam resides in upstate New York and enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, and skiing in the Adirondack Mountains and across the Northeast.