A person’s entire life can change instantly when they become the victim of a violent attack. Beyond the immediate physical injuries, aggravated assaults have been shown to negatively impact a victim’s mental health and functioning in relationships, education and occupation. One study found that a single incident of aggravated assault can, on average, cost the victim and the criminal justice over $145,000. While no area is safe from the devastating effects of violent assaults, some areas have significantly higher incident rates than others.
In order to create a comprehensive nationwide view, FindTheHome looked at the 2014 FBI Uniform Crime Report (latest complete data), visualized the data and identified the counties with the highest aggravated assault rates. The FBI’s UCR defines aggravated assault as “an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.” This definition does not include simple assaults, which are assaults without the use of a dangerous weapon or where the victim does not sustain serious injuries. Sexual assaults are also not classified under this category, as the FBI defines them as sex offenses.
The aggravated assault rate is the total number of aggravated assaults reported to law enforcement agencies within a county per 100,000 people. While the numbers on each slide are county-wide figures, we also provide the name of a major city within the county for context. Population estimates for this calculation come from the 2014 American Community Survey. Only counties in the 50th percentile for population in their state were considered in this analysis.
Disclaimer: The data published here is meant solely to illustrate the relative rates of aggravated assault, and not to make assertions about the effectiveness of law enforcement. There are many factors that affect the rate and nature of crime — such as the degree of urbanization, composition of age groups, economic climate and modes of transportation within an area — which are not considered here.
#50. Vermont: Franklin County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 76.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 37
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 99.5
Total Violent Crimes: 48
Population: 48,226
Major City in County: St. Albans
#49. Maine: York County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 87.5
Total Aggravated Assaults: 174
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 149.8
Total Violent Crimes: 298
Population: 198,934
Major City in County: Biddeford
#48. New Hampshire: Hillsborough County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 145.5
Total Aggravated Assaults: 586
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 262.9
Total Violent Crimes: 1,059
Population: 402,776
Major City in County: Manchester
#47. Connecticut: New Haven County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 155.5
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,342
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 305.3
Total Violent Crimes: 2,635
Population: 863,148
Major City in County: New Haven
#46. Rhode Island: Providence County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 171.9
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,082
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 287.3
Total Violent Crimes: 1,808
Population: 629,280
Major City in County: Providence
#45. Utah: Iron County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 207.6
Total Aggravated Assaults: 97
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 271.8
Total Violent Crimes: 127
Population: 46,725
Major City in County: Cedar City
#44. Hawaii: Maui County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 211.6
Total Aggravated Assaults: 336
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 319.9
Total Violent Crimes: 508
Population: 158,814
Major City in County: Kahului
#43. Idaho: Kootenai County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 216.4
Total Aggravated Assaults: 309
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 283.6
Total Violent Crimes: 405
Population: 142,783
Major City in County: Coeur d’Alene
#42. Minnesota: Ramsey County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 244.4
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,274
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 428.8
Total Violent Crimes: 2,235
Population: 521,265
Major City in County: St. Paul
#41. Wyoming: Carbon County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 259.6
Total Aggravated Assaults: 41
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 291.2
Total Violent Crimes: 46
Population: 15,795
Major City in County: Ryan Park
#40. New Jersey: Camden County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 265.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,362
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 452.4
Total Violent Crimes: 2,319
Population: 512,632
Major City in County: Camden
#39. Delaware: New Castle County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 267.1
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,458
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 413.7
Total Violent Crimes: 2,258
Population: 545,846
Major City in County: Wilmington
#38. Washington: Pierce County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 268.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 2,184
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 434.6
Total Violent Crimes: 3,532
Population: 812,689
Major City in County: Ketron Island
#37. Oregon: Multnomah County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 287.3
Total Aggravated Assaults: 2,176
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 477.8
Total Violent Crimes: 3,619
Population: 757,371
Major City in County: Portland
#36. Arizona: Yuma County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 298.8
Total Aggravated Assaults: 602
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 371.3
Total Violent Crimes: 748
Population: 201,453
Major City in County: Buckshot
#35. Kentucky: Jefferson County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 301.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 2,267
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 552.5
Total Violent Crimes: 4,152
Population: 751,485
Major City in County: Louisville/Jefferson County
#34. South Dakota: Pennington County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 359.6
Total Aggravated Assaults: 376
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 504.9
Total Violent Crimes: 528
Population: 104,574
Major City in County: Rapid City
#33. Virginia: Portsmouth City
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 365.6
Total Aggravated Assaults: 351
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 605.2
Total Violent Crimes: 581
Population: 96,007
Major City in County: Portsmouth
#32. Montana: Lake County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 372.6
Total Aggravated Assaults: 108
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 438.1
Total Violent Crimes: 127
Population: 28,987
Major City in County: Polson
#31. New York: All New York City Counties
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 376.5
Total Aggravated Assaults: 31,460
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 605.2
Total Violent Crimes: 50,564
Population: 8,354,889
Major City in County: New York City
Note: Since the NYPD reports crimes for New York City, which spans five counties, we calculated the rate of violent crime for the entire city.
#30. Colorado: Denver County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 380.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 2,413
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 628.5
Total Violent Crimes: 3,983
Population: 633,777
Major City in County: Denver
#29. Mississippi: Panola County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 426.0
Total Aggravated Assaults: 147
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 481.1
Total Violent Crimes: 166
Population: 34,507
Major City in County: Batesville
#28. Nevada: Clark County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 426.1
Total Aggravated Assaults: 8,537
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 756.1
Total Violent Crimes: 15,150
Population: 2,003,613
Major City in County: Las Vegas
#27. Massachusetts: Suffolk County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 431.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 3,229
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 740.4
Total Violent Crimes: 5,538
Population: 747,928
Major City in County: Boston
#26. Iowa: Lee County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 444.4
Total Aggravated Assaults: 158
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 500.7
Total Violent Crimes: 178
Population: 35,552
Major City in County: Fort Madison
#25. Ohio: Lucas County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 447.5
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,961
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 735.3
Total Violent Crimes: 3,222
Population: 438,167
Major City in County: Toledo
#24. North Dakota: Williams County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 458.1
Total Aggravated Assaults: 124
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 605.9
Total Violent Crimes: 164
Population: 27,066
Major City in County: Williston
#23. Kansas: Bourbon County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 476.1
Total Aggravated Assaults: 71
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 570.0
Total Violent Crimes: 85
Population: 14,913
Major City in County: Fort Scott
#22. Pennsylvania: Philadelphia County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 484.8
Total Aggravated Assaults: 7,500
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,029.5
Total Violent Crimes: 15,925
Population: 1,546,920
Major City in County: Philadelphia
#21. California: San Joaquin County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 512.4
Total Aggravated Assaults: 3,592
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 757.3
Total Violent Crimes: 5,309
Population: 701,050
Major City in County: Stockton
#20. Illinois: Sangamon County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 518.1
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,030
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 716.8
Total Violent Crimes: 1,425
Population: 198,808
Major City in County: Springfield
#19. Alabama: Dallas County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 521.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 223
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 783.8
Total Violent Crimes: 335
Population: 42,743
Major City in County: Selma
#18. Wisconsin: Milwaukee County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 536.2
Total Aggravated Assaults: 5,112
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 997.1
Total Violent Crimes: 9,506
Population: 953,401
Major City in County: Milwaukee
#17. Florida: Leon County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 546.8
Total Aggravated Assaults: 1,536
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 748.4
Total Violent Crimes: 2,102
Population: 280,882
Major City in County: Tallahassee
#16. South Carolina: Richland County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 560.1
Total Aggravated Assaults: 2,205
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 778.0
Total Violent Crimes: 3,063
Population: 393,707
Major City in County: Columbia
#15. Nebraska: Gage County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 603.0
Total Aggravated Assaults: 132
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 799.5
Total Violent Crimes: 175
Population: 21,889
Major City in County: Beatrice
#14. West Virginia: Nicholas County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 609.4
Total Aggravated Assaults: 159
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 643.9
Total Violent Crimes: 168
Population: 26,090
Major City in County: Summersville
#13. Michigan: Wayne County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 634.2
Total Aggravated Assaults: 11,352
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 945.4
Total Violent Crimes: 16,924
Population: 1,790,078
Major City in County: Detroit
#12. Georgia: Dougherty County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 642.2
Total Aggravated Assaults: 603
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 846.7
Total Violent Crimes: 795
Population: 93,890
Major City in County: Albany
#11. Alaska: North Slope Borough
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 665.4
Total Aggravated Assaults: 64
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 769.4
Total Violent Crimes: 74
Population: 9,618
Major City in County: Barrow
#10. Maryland: Baltimore City
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 677.0
Total Aggravated Assaults: 4,213
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,341.2
Total Violent Crimes: 8,346
Population: 622,271
Major City in County: Baltimore
#9. North Carolina: Lenoir County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 682.0
Total Aggravated Assaults: 403
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 827.5
Total Violent Crimes: 489
Population: 59,095
Major City in County: Kinston
#8. Texas: Willacy County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 698.2
Total Aggravated Assaults: 154
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 802.5
Total Violent Crimes: 177
Population: 22,056
Major City in County: Raymondville
#7. Louisiana: Rapides Parish
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 738.3
Total Aggravated Assaults: 976
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 925.9
Total Violent Crimes: 1,224
Population: 132,199
Major City in County: Alexandria
#6. Indiana: Montgomery County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 788.3
Total Aggravated Assaults: 301
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 830.2
Total Violent Crimes: 317
Population: 38,183
Major City in County: Crawfordsville
#5. Oklahoma: Carter County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 795.2
Total Aggravated Assaults: 384
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 938.1
Total Violent Crimes: 453
Population: 48,288
Major City in County: Ardmore
#4. Arkansas: Crittenden County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 803.2
Total Aggravated Assaults: 403
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,058.4
Total Violent Crimes: 531
Population: 50,172
Major City in County: West Memphis
#3. New Mexico: Valencia County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 840.7
Total Aggravated Assaults: 643
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 898.3
Total Violent Crimes: 687
Population: 76,480
Major City in County: Los Lunas
#2. Tennessee: Shelby County
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 873.2
Total Aggravated Assaults: 8,174
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,314.2
Total Violent Crimes: 12,303
Population: 936,130
Major City in County: Memphis
#1. Missouri: St. Louis City
Aggravated Assaults per 100K People: 1,050.4
Total Aggravated Assaults: 3,348
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,677.9
Total Violent Crimes: 5,348
Population: 318,727
Major City in County: St. Louis
