Washington D.C. – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Friday a historic reduction in violent crime across the United States in 2025, with newly released statistics showing the largest single-year declines in both the violent crime rate and the murder rate since the agency began producing national estimates nearly 90 years ago. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report revealed that overall violent crime plunged by 9.3% compared to 2024. Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter saw an even more significant decrease, falling by 18.1% year over year. These figures represent the most substantial annual decreases recorded since the FBI introduced its data-based national estimates in 1936.
"We achieved the single largest reduction in violent crime in American history. It’s pretty amazing." — President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump lauded the findings during remarks to law enforcement officers in Garden City, New York. "We achieved the single largest reduction in violent crime in American history. It’s pretty amazing," President Trump stated. He further characterized the newly released statistics as "the best numbers anybody’s ever seen on crime."
According to the FBI's estimates, approximately 1,119,768 violent crimes occurred nationwide during 2025, which included 14,085 murders. The report also highlighted another significant milestone: the national murder rate fell to 4.1 killings per 100,000 residents. This rate ties the levels recorded in 1955 and 1956, marking the lowest point since the FBI commenced its estimation process. FBI Director Kash Patel also indicated that this downward trend appears to be continuing into the current year, writing, "Preliminary trends for 2026 are showing additional decreases in crime."
The latest numbers extend a multiyear decline in crime rates that began after a spike observed in 2022. Violent crime had previously declined by 4.5% in 2024, with murder and nonnegligent manslaughter dropping by 14.9% in the same year. The 2025 figures, however, demonstrate a substantial acceleration of these decreasing trends.
Several individual categories of violent crime also recorded notable improvements. Robbery experienced one of the most significant drops, decreasing by 18.5% from 2024 levels. Reported rapes declined by 7.6%, while aggravated assaults fell by 7.5%. Property crime also witnessed a substantial reduction across the country, with the FBI estimating an overall decline of 12.4% during 2025. Within this category, burglaries decreased by 15.8%, and motor vehicle thefts plunged by an estimated 22%.
The FBI's comprehensive findings are derived from data submitted by more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide. The report specified that every American city with a population exceeding 1 million provided a full year of data for the analysis, ensuring a broad and representative overview of national crime trends.
While most major national crime indicators moved sharply downward, one statistic showed a notable increase. Reported assaults against law enforcement officers climbed by 13.8% during 2025. The FBI recorded 90,178 officers assaulted in the line of duty, representing a 10-year high for this particular metric. This increase stands in stark contrast to the substantial declines observed across violent crime and property crime more broadly.
These new statistics are anticipated to become a significant political talking point as the country approaches the November midterm elections. President Trump has consistently emphasized crime and public safety as central components of his administration’s domestic agenda, and he quickly claimed credit for the positive turn in the latest numbers. While longer-term FBI data indicate that the national decline in both violent crime and murder rates began annually since their 2022 spike, the 2025 figures nonetheless represent a dramatic acceleration of that established trend. With violent crime down 9.3%, murders down 18.1%, and the national murder rate reaching a level not recorded since the 1950s, the FBI’s most recent report underscores that 2025 produced historic improvements in several of the nation's most closely watched crime statistics.
