Metropolitan counties Cities outside metropolitan counties Non-metropolitan counties

400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000 2,400 2,800 3,200

Rate/100,000 inhabitants

Violent Crime

1,197,987 total crimes

Murder/Manslaughter

14,249 total murders

Motor-vehicle theft

689,527 total thefts

Robbery

325,802 total robberies

Aggravated assault

741,291 total assaults

Property Crime

8,277,829 total crimes

Burglary

1,729,806 total burglaries

Larceny-theft

5,858,496 total thefts

Rape

116,645 total rapes

3284.2

2678.5

1315.6

2475.9

1898.9

795.2

670.7

544.8

432.1

137.6

234.9

88.2

179.5

239.8

395.7

376.0

133.8

49.4

271.2

115.2

51.6

11.1

36.0

3.9

4.7

3.0

31.6

Urban and 

Rural Crime

While national crime statistics provide 

important information regarding overall 

crime trends, they do not identify 

differences among geographic areas. In 

general, statistics show that crime rates 

in metropolitan or urban areas, as well as 

the criminal justice response, differ from 

those in suburban areas, cities outside 

metropolitan areas, and non-metropolitan 

or rural areas. The uneven distribution of 

crime has implications for policymakers 

in responding to crime, supporting 

victims, and allocating criminal justice 

system resources. As Americans become 

more mobile, it becomes increasingly 

important to understand the impact 

of geographic differences on crime 

rates and the ability of local criminal 

justice systems to protect citizens. 

NOTE: Data for 2014 unless otherwise indicated. 

Hover for data hyperlinks to source material.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Crime Reported to Police by Community Type C
Urban Suburban Rural

50 100 150

Violent crime rate/1,000 people

Property crime rate/1,000 households

Violent CrimeB

5,359,570 total crimes

Rape/Sexual assault

284,345 total assaults

Motor-vehicle theft

534,366 total thefts

Aggravated assault

1,092,091 total assaults

Simple assault

3,318,923 total assaults

Property CrimeA

15,288,467 total crimes

Household burglary

2,993,482 total burglaries

Theft

11,760,619 total thefts

Robbery

664,211 total robberies

148.8

101.7

103.2

81.2

111.7

76.0

17.0

31.1

25.4

3.6

6.0

1.8

18.3

12.8

22.2

19.3

11.8

4.1

12.4

3.8

2.1

4.9

3.8

0.7

1.8

0.7*

1.0

13.3

92.3

non-metropolitan

86.7

metropolitan

7.7

Percentage of law enforcement officers by sex and 

population servedB

Men

Women

Metro Counties

165,142 officers, or

2.6 officers/1,000 people

Non-Metro Counties

58,823 officers, or 

2.8 officers/1,000 people

vs

NOTES

*Based on 10 or fewer sample cases.

SOURCES

A Bureau of Justice Statistics, Household 

Victimization by Location of Residence, 2014,

NCVS Victimization Analysis Tool, http://www.bjs.

gov/index.cfm?ty=nvat

B ---Personal Victimization by Location of Residence, 

2014, NCVS Victimization Analysis Tool, http://

www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=nvat

C Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the 

United States, 2014, (Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Justice, 2015), https://www.fbi.gov/

about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-inthe-u.s.-2014/cius-home

D Jennifer L. Truman and Lynn Langton, Criminal 

Victimization, 2014, (Washington, DC: Bureau 

of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 

2015), http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv14.t/

pub/pdf/wv09.pdf

Victimization by Location of Residence

About the Numbers

The FBI’s annual Crime in the United States

relies on Uniform Crime Reporting Program 

(UCR) data and provides subnational statistical 

breakdowns for geographic areas by county 

type (rural, suburban, and urban), city 

population, or both. 

The UCR data are generated from local and 

state police agencies. As such, the crimes are 

known to law enforcement, and rates are based 

on where the crime took place.C

The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ annual report 

Criminal Victimization relies on data from 

the National Crime Victimization Survey 

(NCVS) and provides subnational statistics for 

geographic areas by rural, suburban, and urban 

areas.

The NCVS data are collected from crime victims 

and can include those incidents not reported to 

police, in addition to reported crime. The NCVS 

rates are based on the victim’s residence 

rather than where the incident occurred.D

vs

Law Enforcement Levels by Community Type C