FBI: Violent Crime in the US Fell Again in 2024, Marking Post-COVID Drop

Violent crime in the United States continued to decline in 2024, according to a new FBI report, showing that the public safety rebound after the pandemic-era spike is holding steady.

The data, released Tuesday, shows there were around 1.22 million violent crimes across the country last year — including murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults — down 4.5% from 2023.

Intentional homicides dropped by nearly 15%, pushing the national murder rate to five per 100,000 people — the lowest it’s been in nine years. Still, that number remains well above other high-income countries. For comparison, Japan had a rate of 0.23 in 2023, Oman was at 0.14, and Canada at 1.98.

The US hit its recent high during the first year of the pandemic in 2020, with a murder rate of 6.7 per 100,000. Since then, things have improved gradually but consistently.

The FBI also recorded a 5.2% drop in rape cases and a 1.5% decrease in reported hate crimes. Overall, in 2024:

• A violent crime occurred every 26 seconds.
• A murder happened every 31 minutes.
• A rape was reported roughly every four minutes.

Property crime also declined, falling more than 8% year-over-year to under 6 million reported incidents — the lowest in years.

The FBI based its findings on reports from law enforcement agencies covering 95.6% of the US population.

While the overall trend is positive, the report also highlights ongoing risks and challenges. In 2024:

• 64 police officers were criminally killed in the line of duty.
• 43 died in accidents.
• More than 85,700 officers were assaulted — the highest number in a decade.

Gun violence remains a major factor. So far in 2025, the Gun Violence Archive has logged over 8,800 gun deaths and 261 mass shootings. Just last week, a gunman armed with a rifle killed four people, including a police officer, in an attack near the NFL headquarters in New York City.

Public safety has been a central talking point for former President Donald Trump, who’s campaigning hard on a “law and order” platform ahead of the 2026 elections. Although the pandemic-era spike in crime happened during the final year of his first term, Trump continues to blame Democrats for being “soft on crime” — even though police forces are mostly overseen by state and local officials.