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FBI Crime Report: Largest Year-to-Year Decline in Violent Crime Rates Since FBI Estimations Began in 1936
Absolute rates remain higher in California than the national average, and especially violent crime and property crime
By Katy Grimes, August 17, 2026 6:30 am
FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting data released on Friday for calendar year 2025 shows 2024 to 2025 marked the largest year-to-year decline in violent crime rates since FBI estimations began in 1936.
Even with the significant decline in violent and property crimes, reported assaults on law enforcement officers reached a 10-year high.
Overall violent crime decreased an estimated 9.3%.
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses fell an estimated 18.1%.
The 2025 murder rate was 4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants—the lowest in the past 20 years and tied with 1955 and 1956 for the lowest since FBI estimations began.
Rape offenses decreased an estimated 7.6%, aggravated assault 7.2%, and robbery 18.5%.
Property crime also declined (estimated 12.4% overall in earlier preliminary data), with further drops in categories such as motor vehicle theft and burglary.
Hate crime incidents similarly fell in the comparable dataset.
The data came from more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies covering a large share of the U.S. population.
These figures continue a multi-year downward trend after the post-2020 spike. Independent analysts (such as those tracking city-level and real-time data) had already noted large 2025 drops consistent with the FBI release, and some preliminary indicators pointed to further declines into 2026. The CBS News summary you referenced aligns closely with the official FBI press release and supporting tables.
Notably, the FBI reports that in 2025, reported assaults on law enforcement officers—which include aggravated and simple assault offenses—reached a 10-year high with 90,178 officers assaulted in the line of duty.
Of the victim officers who were assaulted in the line of duty in 2025, most (77.2%) were assaulted with personal weapons, 3.7% were assaulted with firearms, and 1.9% were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments; 17.2% were assaulted with weapons classified as “other dangerous weapons.” Officers were most commonly assaulted while responding to disturbance
calls (26.3%).
California’s Crime Stats
California crime statistics for 2024–2025, reported via law enforcement agencies to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting/NIBRS program, as compiled and published by the California Department of Justice, show declines in both violent and property crime rates from 2024 to 2025.
Released July 2026, they reflect data submitted by California agencies under the FBI UCR program. Not all agencies submitted a full year of data for 2025.
2024:
- Violent crime: 480.3
- Property crime: 2,082.7
- Homicide: 4.3 (1,666 reported)
- Aggravated assault: 322.8
- Robbery: 117.8
- Burglary: 308.2
- Motor vehicle theft: 424.6
- Arson: 18.9
2025:
- Violent crime: 431.1 (↓ 10.2%)
- Property crime: 1,785.8 (↓ 14.3%)
- Homicide: 3.5 (↓ 18.6%; 1,374 reported — a record low in available statewide data)
- Aggravated assault: 300.1 (↓ 7.0%)
- Robbery: 94.4 (↓ 19.9%)
- Burglary: 277.3 (↓ 10.0%)
- Motor vehicle theft: 314.9 (↓ 25.8% — largest percentage drop among major categories)
- Arson: 17.9 (↓ 5.3%)
According to the California DOJ, violent crime remains well below its historical peak (1,103.9 in 1992). From 2020 to 2025, the homicide rate fell 36%, property crime 15.5%, and motor vehicle theft 25%.
- Homicides: Firearms were involved in 67% of cases where the weapon was identified (2025). Among cases with known circumstances, arguments were the most common factor (40%), followed by gang-related (~20%) and domestic violence (14%). Homicide arrests declined slightly.
- Arrests: The overall arrest rate rose 3.6% (from 2,673.8 in 2024 to 2,770.4 in 2025). Juvenile arrests fell 7%. Felony drug offense arrest rates increased notably.
- Other: Domestic violence-related calls for assistance decreased. Law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty increased. Preliminary/partial 2025 FBI data (covering a large share of the population) showed similar percentage declines.
While National FBI data for 2025 show broad declines, California’s Homicide numbers are still higher than other states: California fell from 1,666 to 1,374 (↓17.5%). National murder offenses declined 18.1%. California’s 2025 rate of 3.5 per 100,000 is a record low for the state and below the national rate of 4.1.
Absolute rates remain higher in California than the national average, and especially violent crime and property crime. In 2024, California’s violent crime rate was roughly 30–35% above the U.S. average.
California was parallel with the national downward trend, with comparable or slightly steeper percentage declines in several key categories: violent crime overall, property crime, motor vehicle theft, and homicide rate.
California’s absolute rates stayed elevated relative to the U.S. average, but its homicide rate undercut the national figure in 2025.
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
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