The State Where You’re Most Likely to Get Robbed

If you guessed New York, you're wrong.

While tuning into the evening news might lead you to believe otherwise, violent crime in America is down. In fact, the violent crime rate fell by 3.9 percent in 2018, according to FBI data. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be aware of your surroundings—and part of doing that is knowing where you’re most at risk. Knowing these pickpocket secrets helps, too.

FBI data shows which states have the highest rates of property crimes, robberies included. To be clear, according to the FBI, a robbery is “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.” Yes, there’s a difference between burglary and robbery.

So in which state do the majority of these muggings take place? Washington D.C. FBI statistics show D.C. saw 343.8 robberies per 100,000 people in 2018. That’s compared to the 160 robberies per 100,000 people in the second most robbery-laden state, Maryland.

State number three is California, with 137.3 robberies, followed by New Mexico, with 135.1. Nevada rounds out the top five with 127.3 robberies. Stay safe–here’s how to outsmart a mugger. 

No matter where you are, you’ll want to take a few precautions to keep yourself safe. For example, walk with a purpose, conceal your valuables, and remember that there’s strength in numbers. For more tricks, learn the 21 things a burglar won’t tell you.