FBI announces US violent crime rate plummeted by fastest rate in nearly 90 years
Violent crime fell across the U.S. in 2025 at rates not seen in nearly a century, according to FBI findings.
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter dropped by more than 18% nationwide last year, while aggravated assault fell by more than 7%, according to a preliminary report on 2025 national crime rates. Overall violent crime declined about 9.3%.
“The 2025 crime data in this report shows the single largest decrease in violent crime and murder since 1937, along with huge decreases across the board in aggravated assault and robbery,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
Property crime also fell, dropping about 12.4% between 2024 and 2025.
The findings come from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which collected data from more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies covering about 96% of policing nationwide.
The number of incidents remains alarming even as crime trends downward.
There were roughly 1.1 million fewer violent crimes in 2025 than in 2024, along with about 5.2 million fewer property crimes year over year. Still, a violent crime occurred every 28 seconds, including a murder every 37 minutes.
Property crimes occurred every 6 seconds, including a burglary every 47 seconds and a motor vehicle theft every 46 seconds.
More than 400,000 violent crimes, about 47%, were cleared with arrests, along with about 868,000 property crimes, or 17%.
The toll on law enforcement was also high. About 53 police officers were killed on duty last year, more than 90,000 were assaulted in the line of duty, and another 28 died accidentally while on the job.
The FBI’s full 2025 crime report is expected in the coming months.
