Table 2

Crime in the United States
by Community Type, 2008

Area		Population¹	Violent crime	Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	Forcible rape	Robbery	Aggravated assault	Property crime	Burglary	Larceny- theft	Motor vehicle theft
United States Total		304,059,724	1,382,012	16,272	89,000	441,855	834,885	9,767,915	2,222,196	6,588,873	956,846
United States Total	Rate per 100,000 inhabitants		454.5	5.4	29.3	145.3	274.6	3,212.5	730.8	2,167.0	314.7
Metropolitan Statistical Area		254,002,827
	Area actually reporting²	96.0%	1,168,181	13,723	68,494	397,696	688,268	8,083,781	1,804,719	5,428,750	850,312
	Estimated total	100.0%	1,242,047	14,550	74,339	423,309	729,849	8,514,199	1,894,453	5,732,128	887,618
	Rate per 100,000 inhabitants		489.0	5.7	29.3	166.7	287.3	3,352.0	745.8	2,256.7	349.5
Cities outside metropolitan areas		19,957,718
	Area actually reporting²	87.6%	69,858	605	6,568	11,787	50,898	657,892	142,752	486,482	28,658
	Estimated total	100.0%	78,232	693	7,620	13,387	56,532	747,713	162,443	553,355	31,915
	Rate per 100,000 inhabitants		392.0	3.5	38.2	67.1	283.3	3,746.5	813.9	2,772.6	159.9
Nonmetropolitan Counties		30,099,179
	Area actually reporting²	90.0%	57,121	945	6,118	4,743	45,315	464,029	151,350	277,937	34,742
	Estimated total	100.0%	61,733	1,029	7,041	5,159	48,504	506,003	165,300	303,390	37,313
	Rate per 100,000 inhabitants		205.1	3.4	23.4	17.1	161.1	1,681.1	549.2	1,008.0	124.0

¹ Population figures are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2008.
² The percentage reported under "Area actually reporting" is based on the population covered by agencies providing 3 months or more of crime reports to the FBI.
NOTE: Although arson data are included in the trend and clearance tables, sufficient data are not available to estimate totals for this offense. Therefore, no arson data are published in this table.

Data Declaration

Provides the methodology used in constructing this table and other pertinent information about this table.

In 2008, the violent crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants in the United States was 454.5
The violent crime rate in Metropolitan Statistical Areas was 489.0 per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate in cities outside metropolitan areas was 392.0 per 100,000 inhabitants, and in nonmetropolitan counties, 205.1 per 100,000 in population.
In 2008, the murder rate in the United States was 5.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The murder rate in Metropolitan Statistical Areas was 5.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. The murder rates in cities outside metropolitan areas and in nonmetropolitan counties were 3.5 per 100,000 inhabitants and 3.4 per 100,000 in population, respectively.
In the United States, the property crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008 was 3,212.5.
The property crime rate in Metropolitan Statistical Areas was 3,352.0 per 100,000 inhabitants. The property crime rate in cities outside metropolitan areas was 3,746.5 per 100,000 inhabitants and in nonmetropolitan counties, 1,681.1 per 100,000 in population.