Safest States in the United States (2024)

Ranking of 50 U.S. states by crime rate per 100,000 residents, based on FBI NIBRS data. Broken down by assault, homicide, robbery, and sex offense rates. Explore the full data on our interactive crime map. Also see: Most dangerous states in the US.

Most Dangerous Safest

0 per 100K

The safest states by assault rate are: New York (281 per 100K); Alaska (358 per 100K); Florida (488 per 100K); Pennsylvania (508 per 100K); Vermont (522 per 100K). A total of 50 states are included.

Not all agencies report every offense category consistently. Some states may show unusually low rates for specific crime types due to differences in classification or reporting practices, rather than actual low incidence.

#	State	Population	Assault	Homicide	Robbery	Sex Offenses
1	New York	19,867,248	281	1	10	10
2	Alaska	740,133	358	2	11	31
3	Florida	23,372,215	488	2	21	19
4	Pennsylvania	13,078,751	508	4	42	39
5	Vermont	648,493	522	3	14	40
6	New Jersey	9,500,851	551	2	38	29
7	Mississippi	2,943,045	577	4	10	24
8	Connecticut	3,675,069	642	3	38	37
9	Minnesota	5,793,151	653	4	49	73
10	Idaho	2,001,619	670	2	7	85
11	Wisconsin	5,960,975	670	5	40	60
12	West Virginia	1,769,979	687	5	10	67
13	California	39,431,263	702	3	75	53
14	Hawaii	1,446,146	707	1	38	44
15	Rhode Island	1,112,308	712	2	22	40
16	Arizona	7,582,384	732	3	23	45
17	Maine	1,405,012	745	4	11	56
18	Kentucky	4,588,372	753	6	35	51
19	Oregon	4,272,371	799	4	57	75
20	Utah	3,503,613	807	2	28	138
21	Wyoming	587,618	810	4	7	81
22	New Hampshire	1,409,032	822	3	13	86
23	Massachusetts	7,136,171	857	2	34	45
24	Iowa	3,241,488	874	2	19	55
25	Washington	7,958,180	885	4	67	62
26	Indiana	6,924,275	886	5	33	59
27	Colorado	5,957,493	913	5	63	92
28	Montana	1,137,233	915	3	19	133
29	Georgia	11,180,878	938	6	36	62
30	Virginia	8,811,195	982	5	33	56
31	Nebraska	2,005,465	985	4	21	77
32	Maryland	6,263,220	1,020	7	123	61
33	North Carolina	11,046,024	1,032	7	49	52
34	Ohio	11,883,304	1,055	5	45	71
35	Louisiana	4,597,740	1,074	7	28	45
36	Missouri	6,245,466	1,089	8	52	61
37	South Dakota	924,669	1,116	4	23	79
38	North Dakota	796,568	1,129	3	27	114
39	Kansas	2,970,606	1,132	5	25	72
40	Texas	31,290,831	1,280	6	64	68
41	Delaware	1,051,917	1,282	6	47	37
42	Illinois	12,710,158	1,294	5	89	65
43	Michigan	10,140,459	1,301	6	31	94
44	South Carolina	5,478,831	1,347	8	35	60
45	Oklahoma	4,095,393	1,367	7	38	103
46	Alabama	5,157,699	1,417	8	35	34
47	Tennessee	7,227,750	1,533	9	59	71
48	Arkansas	3,088,354	1,570	7	39	84
49	Nevada	3,267,467	1,578	6	62	89
50	New Mexico	2,130,256	1,626	11	63	82

Frequently Asked Questions

Which are the most dangerous states in the United States?

Based on 2024 FBI NIBRS data, the states with the highest overall crime rates are: New Mexico (7,019 per 100K), Nevada (6,106 per 100K), Tennessee (6,020 per 100K), Arkansas (5,828 per 100K), Colorado (5,809 per 100K).

Which are the safest states in the United States?

The states with the lowest overall crime rates are: New York (1,051 per 100K), Alaska (1,153 per 100K), Florida (1,851 per 100K), Mississippi (2,291 per 100K), Pennsylvania (2,409 per 100K).

Which states have the most homicides per capita?

The states with the highest homicide rates per 100,000 residents are: New Mexico (11 per 100K), Tennessee (9 per 100K), Missouri (8 per 100K), Alabama (8 per 100K), South Carolina (8 per 100K).

Which states have the most robberies per capita?

The states with the highest robbery rates are: Maryland (123 per 100K), Illinois (89 per 100K), California (75 per 100K), Washington (67 per 100K), Texas (64 per 100K).

Which states have the most sex offenses per capita?

The states with the highest sex offense rates are: Utah (138 per 100K), Montana (133 per 100K), North Dakota (114 per 100K), Oklahoma (103 per 100K), Michigan (94 per 100K). Note: reporting practices for sex offenses vary significantly between agencies.

What data is this based on?

This ranking uses data from the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for 2024. NIBRS collects detailed information about each criminal incident from participating law enforcement agencies across the United States.

How is the crime rate calculated?

Crime rates are calculated as the number of reported offenses per 100,000 residents. This allows fair comparison between states of different sizes.

Why are some states missing?

Not all law enforcement agencies participate in NIBRS. All 50 states are included, though coverage varies as not every agency within a state participates in NIBRS.

What's the difference between NIBRS and UCR?

UCR collected aggregate monthly counts. NIBRS replaced it with detailed per-incident data including victims, offenders, weapons, and locations. As of 2024, the FBI only accepts NIBRS data.

Methodology

Crime rates are per 100,000 residents using Census 2024 population estimates.

Assault — aggravated assault, simple assault, and intimidation.
Homicide — murder, non-negligent manslaughter, and negligent manslaughter.
Robbery — taking property by force or threat of force.
Sex Offenses — forcible rape, sodomy, sexual assault with an object, and fondling.

Reporting caveat: Individual crime categories may be underreported by some agencies due to differences in classification practices.

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer