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Crime rate calculator

Enter a crime count and a population and get the rate per 100,000 people, the way the FBI states it, with the arithmetic shown. For the rate of a real police agency from FBI data, use the lookup instead.

Informational only, not professional advice. A rate says nothing certain about any one home, street or school.

Example: Burlington, VT, violent crime, 2025

482.5 per 100,000 people

214 crimes among 44,354 people is 482.5 for every 100,000 people, or about 4.82 for every 1,000.

214 ÷ 44,354 × 100,000 = 482.5

A rate is only as good as its two inputs. A count from one year with a population from another, or a count for a whole county with a population for one city, gives a number that looks exact and is not. If the count covers less than a full year, the rate is not a yearly rate; CrimeTally never stretches a partial year to twelve months.

The formula

crimes ÷ population × 100,000 = crime rate per 100,000

This is the rate the FBI uses in its published tables: the number of offenses known to law enforcement in a calendar year, divided by the population of the area, scaled to 100,000 people so that places of different sizes can be read on one scale. The FBI's Crime Data Explorer publishes both inputs for every agency that reports, and its guidance on the proper use of its statistics explains why a rate should not be used to rank places. Dividing by 100 instead gives the rate per 1,000.

Limits

  • The calculator does no checking of where the numbers came from. The rate is only as comparable as the inputs.
  • It is a rate for an area, not a risk for a person. People move in and out of an area, and crimes against visitors count toward it.
  • A “crime rate” on this site always means reported crime: crimes reported to police. Unreported crime is in no one's count.

Last reviewed: September 2026

Questions people ask

Why per 100,000 and not a percent?

A percent is per 100. Most places report far fewer than one crime per 100 people a year, so a percent would be a string of zeros. The FBI reports its rates per 100,000 people, and the number stays readable for a village and for a city alike.

Which population should I use?

The population of the area the agency polices, for the same year as the crime count. The FBI publishes the figure it used for each agency, and it can differ from the census count for the city. Using a different year's population, or a county's population for a city department, gives a rate that is not comparable with anyone else's.

Can I use this for a neighborhood?

Only if you have a crime count and a population for exactly that area, from the same source. The FBI's data is by police agency, so it gives no count for a neighborhood, a street or a school. A rate for an agency is not a rate for any part of it.

Does a higher rate mean a more dangerous place?

A rate counts crimes reported to police. It moves with how readily people report, how the agency records, and how many non-residents are in the area, as well as with crime itself. The FBI cautions against ranking places by its data for these reasons.

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