Arizona is home to 7.38 million residents; Phoenix is both its capital and its largest city · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Arizona?
Arizona ranks 44th safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC for violent crime, with a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 779 of 1,00044th safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Arizona as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Arizona scores 779.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Arizona at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Arizona, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Arizona
Low violent crime is the norm across Arizona: 78% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 12% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Arizona run from A+ to F.
78%10%12%
A or B 78%C 10%D or F 12%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 15 counties, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Cities of 10,000 or more residents, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is violent crime going up in Arizona?
Reported violent crime in Arizona peaked in 2021 and has fallen 10% since, back near its 2019 level. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 4.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
ArizonaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Arizona. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Arizona
Violent, US
2016
+4%
+4%
2017
+13%
+4%
2018
+6%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+11%
+4%
2021
+11%
+6%
2022
+8%
+5%
2023
+1%
+2%
2024
-0%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Arizona
CrimeGrade™ estimates Arizona has about 16 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 18% more than the US as a whole.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Arizona, about 93% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Violent crime in Arizona and nearby states
Of the 10 states closest to Arizona, 8 have less violent crime. Wyoming and Idaho have the least.
Arizona looks like a typical state on the traits that tend to go with violent crime.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.23% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 63% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Arizona: D (13 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 54% of Americans
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Arizona on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more. Its Walk Grade for Arizona is D (15 of 100).
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What violent crime costs Arizona
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Arizona about $10.68 billion a year, or $1,447 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $2.34 billion, or $317 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 78% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$697 million
$95
Rape
$184 million
$25
Robbery
$153 million
$21
Assault
$1.30 billion
$176
Total
$2.34 billion
$317
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
