Driven by an increase in homicides and a rise in cases of aggravated assault, the violent crime rate in the United States rose in 2020, according to FBI data. A bright spot in the latest data, however, was a year-over-year decline in reported robberies. Continuing a decades-long trend, the number of robberies committed in the United States fell 9%, from approximately 268,500 in 2019 to 243,600 in 2020.
According to the FBI, robbery is a crime in which force or the threat of force or violence is used to take or attempt to take something of value from another person. The majority of robberies in the United States are committed on streets or sidewalks. Handguns are the most common weapon used in robberies, and most often among cases where a suspect can be identified, the assailant and victim are strangers to each other.
While robbery cases are down across much of the country, there are a few exceptions, and in some US cities robbery rates are on the rise.
Using FBI data, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 50 cities with the fastest rising rates of theft. Cities, defined as having a population greater than 25,000, are ranked based on the year-to-year change in the number of robberies per 100,000 population. Among the cities on this list, robbery rates have climbed to 111 incidents per 100,000 population. For context, the robbery rate in the United States dropped by 8 incidents per 100,000 in 2020.
Robbery – along with rape, aggravated assault and homicide – is a component of the overall violent crime category. Even though theft only accounts for a small percentage of all violent crime, most cities on this list also reported an overall increase in violent crime in 2020. Here’s a look at the states where crime is skyrocketing.
In the majority of cities on this list, the overall robbery rate was lower than the national rate in 2019. Following the robbery surge in 2020, however, all but nine cities on this list now have a robbery rate higher than the current national rate. rate of 74 incidents per 100,000 population. Here’s a look at the states with the highest theft rates.
Click here to see cities with skyrocketing theft rates
Click here to see our detailed methodology