Every year, the FBI releases its Uniform Crime Report, a detailed breakdown of property crimes, violent crimes, and other offenses across the US. It gives us a yearly measuring stick to compare crime rates across the country and burglary rates by state, allowing each region to home in on its local crime statistics.
Here are the 10 US states with the highest burglary rates per 100,000 residents:
- New Mexico - 696.8
- Oklahoma - 671.7
- Mississippi - 627
- Arkansas - 599.6
- Louisiana - 579
- South Carolina - 533.4
- Alabama - 531.9
- North Carolina - 519.1
- Nevada - 503.5
- Alaska - 487.1
Source: FBI 2019 Uniform Crime Report
The FBI’s Definition of Burglary
The FBI defines burglary as “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft,” which includes both forced entry as well as non-forced entry cases. Structures that meet the definition included apartments, house trailers, barns, offices, permanent residential houseboats, railroad cars, stables, and vessels such as ships.
The Big Picture
In 2019, the US saw around 1,117,696 cases of home burglary nationwide, according to the FBI’s 2019 Uniform Crime Report.
The good news is that the total number of home burglaries has decreased 9.5% from the previous year.
Nonetheless, home burglaries still rank as the 3rd most commonly committed crime in the country.
Food for Thought
The thought of a home invasion may seem hard to grasp, especially if you think you live in a safe area. In reality, burglaries can happen to anybody and when they do the experience can be traumatizing.
The 2019 FBI report mentioned a few interesting stats:
- Only a little more than half (55.7%) of burglaries were from forced entry
- More than 100,000 of total residential burglaries occurred during the day than at night
- Burglary victims nationwide lost an estimated $3 billion in property losses in the last year.
Keeping Safe
To prevent the worst from happening, you can use a home security system to monitor your house, or simply employ your neighbors to help keep watch when you're out of town.
No matter if you're a homeowner or a renter, there are many options out there to keep your home safe, and this includes keeping a tab on changing crime patterns across states.
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Scott currently writes full-time for top10.com and has worked as a writer, editor, and researcher for top tech companies, including Groupon. Over the last decade he has covered stories in emerging tech, consumer trends, medical and wellness technology, media, science, and culture.
