The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program is the gold standard for crime data in the United States. Every year, approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies voluntarily submit crime data to the FBI, covering about 98% of the US population. Here's how to interpret this data for your city.
What the FBI Tracks
The UCR program divides crime into two main categories. Violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crime includes burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Rates are expressed per 100,000 population to allow fair comparison between cities of different sizes.
Understanding Crime Rates
The national average violent crime rate is approximately 380 per 100,000 people. The national average property crime rate is approximately 1,958 per 100,000. Cities significantly above these averages face elevated crime risk, while those below are considered safer.
However, raw numbers need context. A city with a high tourist population may have inflated crime rates because the denominator (resident population) is lower than the actual people present. College towns may see similar distortion during the academic year.
Limitations of FBI Data
Not all agencies report consistently. Some agencies have gaps in reporting years. The UCR captures reported crimes only - unreported crimes (the "dark figure of crime") aren't included. And the transition from UCR to the newer NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) has created temporary gaps in some agencies' data.
How ZipRiskMap Uses FBI Data
We calculate a percentile rank for each city based on combined violent and property crime rates. A city at the 80th percentile has higher crime than 80% of all reporting cities, resulting in a crime risk score of 80. This provides a fair, nationally-normalized comparison.