Special Report
How the Crime Rate in Virginia Compares to the Rest of the Country
Published:
Violent crime has been trending downward in the United States for decades. According to the FBI, the U.S. violent crime rate — a population-adjusted measure that includes incidents of robbery, homicide, and aggravated assault — fell by nearly 90% between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s. Though a historic surge in homicides helped drive the violent crime rate up in 2020, the U.S. remains far safer than it was at any point in the 1990s.
Over the 26 year period of comprehensive FBI data, beginning in 1995 and going through 2020, the number of violent crimes reported annually in the U.S. ranged from about 1.8 million, down to less than 1.2 million. Over the same period, the violent crime rate peaked at 684 incidents for every 100,000 people in 1995, and hit a multi-decade low of 362 per 100,000 in 2014.
The FBI also tracks violent crime rates at the state level, and Virginia has been safer than the U.S. as a whole for over two and a half decades. Every year between 1995 and 2020, the violent crime rate in Virginia has been lower than the national rate, often by a wide margin.
Like the U.S. as a whole, the violent crime rate in Virginia has improved substantially since the 1990s. As of 2020, Virginia’s violent crime rate was 42% lower than it was in 1995 — and in each of the last 14 years, Virginia has ranked among the 10 safest states in the country.
While some factors that led to the reduction of criminal violence remain unknown, experts have identified several likely underlying causes. According to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice, a non-profit policy institute, these include an aging population, declining alcohol use, increased policing and incarceration, and several economic conditions related to inflation, unemployment, and consumer confidence.
While homicide is the most serious violent offense in the FBI’s hierarchy of violent offenses, it is also the least common. In the last 26 years, homicides have never accounted for more than 3% of all violent crimes reported in Virginia. In contrast, aggravated assault has accounted for at least half of all violent offenses reported in Virginia every year.
Year | Violent crimes per 100,000 people in Virginia | Violent crimes per 100,000 people in the U.S. | Total violent crimes in Virginia | Total violent crimes in U.S. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 208.7 | 398.5 | 17,925 | 1,313,105 |
2019 | 209.4 | 380.8 | 17,916 | 1,250,393 |
2018 | 204.2 | 383.4 | 17,357 | 1,252,399 |
2017 | 210.4 | 394.9 | 17,811 | 1,283,875 |
2016 | 219.8 | 397.5 | 18,495 | 1,285,606 |
2015 | 199.6 | 373.7 | 16,705 | 1,199,310 |
2014 | 198.4 | 361.6 | 16,522 | 1,153,022 |
2013 | 197.8 | 369.1 | 16,355 | 1,168,298 |
2012 | 191.5 | 387.8 | 15,676 | 1,217,057 |
2011 | 197.6 | 387.1 | 16,014 | 1,206,031 |
2010 | 214.2 | 404.5 | 17,184 | 1,251,248 |
2009 | 230.8 | 431.9 | 18,195 | 1,325,896 |
2008 | 257.8 | 458.6 | 20,031 | 1,394,461 |
2007 | 272.8 | 471.8 | 21,035 | 1,422,970 |
2006 | 283.7 | 479.3 | 21,683 | 1,435,123 |
2005 | 283.4 | 469.0 | 21,434 | 1,390,745 |
2004 | 275.5 | 463.2 | 20,608 | 1,360,088 |
2003 | 278.2 | 475.8 | 20,490 | 1,383,676 |
2002 | 291.7 | 494.4 | 21,256 | 1,423,677 |
2001 | 291.0 | 504.5 | 20,939 | 1,439,480 |
2000 | 281.7 | 506.5 | 19,943 | 1,425,486 |
1999 | 314.7 | 523.0 | 21,626 | 1,426,044 |
1998 | 325.7 | 567.6 | 22,115 | 1,533,887 |
1997 | 345.2 | 611.0 | 23,249 | 1,636,099 |
1996 | 341.3 | 636.6 | 22,782 | 1,688,540 |
1995 | 361.5 | 684.5 | 23,921 | 1,798,792 |
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