Trends in Violent Crime and Accountability
50-state violent crime data
From 2019 to 2023, the national violent crime rate declined despite an increase in 2020. However, there were important variations in violent crime trends by offense. Nationally, rates of reported homicide and aggravated assault increased, while rates of rape and robbery declined.
Trends in violent crime also varied by state. Between 2019 and 2023, violent crime rates in 32 states decreased, while violent crime rates in 18 states and the District of Columbia increased.
Between 2019 and 2023, the percentage of violent crimes solved by law enforcement decreased in 32 states and the District of Columbia, while increasing in 18 states.
Illinois did not report enough data to the FBI on whether crimes were solved to make reliable estimates.
Trends in reported violent crime
In 2023, 374 violent crime incidents per 100,000 residents were reported to police in the United States.
Trends in solved violent crime
In 2023, 41 percent of violent crime incidents reported to police in the United States were solved. The percentage of violent crimes that law enforcement solved fell from 2019 to 2022 and increased in 2023 to a level similar to 2020.
Violent crime and solved violent crime by state, 2023
The following tables include violent crime rates and solve rates by state and offense. For more information on violent crime solve rates for each offense by state, visit state-specific pages here.
Orange indicates a solve rate less than the state average across the United States.
Blue indicates a solve rate greater than or equal to the state average across the United States.
Data regarding crime and solve rates come from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Violent crime includes homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and rape. Crime rates are calculated by dividing the number of estimated incidents by the total population for a given geography. Solve rates are the number of reported crimes cleared by arrest or by exceptional means divided by the number of reported crimes. For more information, see the data sources and methodology section below.
Trends in law enforcement resources
State expenditures include spending on police, sheriffs, and highway patrols. The charts below also include staffing per 10,000 residents and per 1,000 violent crimes. These factors may show the level of policing a community receives, potentially influencing both crime and solve rates and providing insight into how law enforcement resources impact violent crime.
Overall, state spending on law enforcement increased across the United States by 20 percent from 2013 to 2021, adjusting for inflation.
The number of officers per 10k residents in jurisdictions across the United States has increased by 1 percent from 2013 to 2023.
The number of officers per 1k violent crimes in jurisdictions across the United States has increased by 13 percent from 2013 to 2023.
Trends in homicide solve rates
The following chart includes homicide solve rates by race and ethnicity, gender, age, weapon type, and number of victims. For more information, see the data and methodology sections below.
In the United States, homicide solve rates are highest when the victim is White and are lowest when the victim is Black. Homicide solve rates are highest when the victim is a woman and lowest when the victim is a man.