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.
West Virginia’s violent crime rate increased by 12.4% in 2020, more than double the comparable national increase. Still, the violent crime rate of 356 incidents for every 100,000 people is slightly lower than the national average. The majority of the 6,352 violent incidents reported in the state in 2020 — 79.3% — were aggravated assault cases.
The increase in crime in the state in 2020 was led by homicides. There were 117 murders reported in West Virginia in 2020, up over 50% from 78 the previous year.
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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