America's crime record
Property
Arson
32,752
offenses reported, 2025 · Down 11% from 2024
Rate 9.8, about 1 in 10,000 residents
Timeline
Arson reported to the FBI: willful or malicious burning of a building, vehicle, or other property.
Source and method
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, arson returns and NIBRS (Crime Data API totals) · Calendar year · 1985 to 2025
- 2021NIBRS only, many large agencies missing; shown alone, never joined to other years
- 2022Summary counts accepted again
- 2022–2025The NIBRS state incident files and the NIBRS national master file hold the same records side by side. CrimeDB uses the NIBRS national master file; the other is kept as a check. The zips are the frozen snapshot the FBI's NIBRS tables were built from, 1% to 5% fewer incidents than the rebuilt master file (2025 equal). They check those tables.
- 2023Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming come from the NIBRS state incident files, filling a gap in the NIBRS national master file. The 2023 master file stops partway through Wisconsin and has no West Virginia or Wyoming rows, and the FBI has not reissued it (checked 2026-10-08). The normalized NIBRS records take those states' incidents from the zips.
Breakdown
Offenses by property, 2025
| Single occupancy residential | 12%3,733 | 3,733 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other residential | 6%2,069 | 2,069 | |
| Storage | 2%564 | 564 | |
| Industrial and manufacturing | <1%77 | 77 | |
| Other commercial | 4%1,310 | 1,310 | |
| Community and public | 2%660 | 660 | |
| Other structures | 6%1,816 | 1,816 | |
| Motor vehicles | 16%5,138 | 5,138 | |
| Other mobile property | 2%486 | 486 | |
| Other property | 46%14,710 | 14,710 | |
| Property type not given | 5%1,604 | 1,604 |
Arsons in the FBI's arson returns for 2025, 32,167 in all, from every agency that sent one. Not the count in the chart above.
FBI arson master file, 2025
Every figure as a table
Arson, offenses reported, by year
| Year | Count | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32,752 | 9.8 | |
| 2024 | 36,601 | 11 | |
| 2023 | 37,894 | 12 | |
| 2022 | 40,057 | 12 | |
| 2021 | 30,249 | 11 | Stands alone; not joined to other years |
| 2020 | 45,985 | 14 | |
| 2019 | 36,205 | 11 | |
| 2018 | 39,361 | 12 | |
| 2017 | 42,993 | 13 | |
| 2016 | 45,729 | 14 | |
| 2015 | 43,993 | 14 | |
| 2014 | 46,195 | 15 | |
| 2013 | 47,204 | 15 | |
| 2012 | 55,336 | 18 | |
| 2011 | 54,546 | 18 | |
| 2010 | 55,986 | 18 | |
| 2009 | 59,860 | 20 | |
| 2008 | 65,789 | 22 | |
| 2007 | 68,091 | 23 | |
| 2006 | 72,969 | 25 | |
| 2005 | 68,508 | 25 | |
| 2004 | 69,300 | 25 | |
| 2003 | 72,809 | 27 | |
| 2002 | 77,148 | 29 | |
| 2001 | 79,040 | 30 | |
| 2000 | 69,466 | 27 | |
| 1999 | 78,495 | 32 | |
| 1998 | 80,150 | 33 | |
| 1997 | 87,260 | 37 | |
| 1996 | 91,697 | 39 | |
| 1995 | 96,536 | 41 | |
| 1994 | 103,178 | 42 | |
| 1993 | 96,071 | 40 | |
| 1992 | 103,979 | 43 | |
| 1991 | 103,299 | 44 | |
| 1990 | 104,088 | 44 | |
| 1989 | 102,187 | 43 | |
| 1988 | 100,212 | 45 | |
| 1987 | 102,914 | 44 | |
| 1986 | 111,163 | 48 | |
| 1985 | 103,698 | 45 |
Rate: Offenses per 100,000 people living where the reporting agencies police, by the FBI's population for those agencies. Agencies that did not report add neither offenses nor people.
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, arson returns and NIBRS (Crime Data API totals) · Calendar year
Arson: known offenders per 100,000 people in each group, by race, by year
| Year | White+MENA | Black | Hispanic | Asian | AIAN | NHPI | All known offenders | Share with race not recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.2 | 14 | 6.3 | 1.4 | 15 | 13 | 7.4 | 18% |
| 2024 | 5.5 | 15 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 17 | 14 | 8.1 | 19% |
| 2023 | 5.8 | 15 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 18 | 14 | 8.4 | 21% |
| 2022 | 5.9 | 15 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 18 | 12 | 8.1 | 19% |
| 2021 | 6 | 15 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 21 | 15 | 8.3 | 21% |
The Rate view's race lines, from 2021. Each group's line is its people counted per 100,000 people in the group, in the agencies that sent incident detail to the FBI: the Census count of the group scaled by the share of people those agencies police. Hispanic is of any race; the other groups are not Hispanic. The dashed line is everyone in the role, any race or none.
– means no rate: a group the source does not count apart that year, or no people to divide by. People whose race is not known are in no group's rate, so each rate is a floor.
FBI NIBRS incident records; CrimeDB's split of records with a race and no ethnicity (crimedb-ethnicity-v3); Census Bureau population estimates
Offenses by property, 2025
| Property | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Single occupancy residential | 3,733 | 12% |
| Other residential | 2,069 | 6% |
| Storage | 564 | 2% |
| Industrial and manufacturing | 77 | <1% |
| Other commercial | 1,310 | 4% |
| Community and public | 660 | 2% |
| Other structures | 1,816 | 6% |
| Motor vehicles | 5,138 | 16% |
| Other mobile property | 486 | 2% |
| Other property | 14,710 | 46% |
| Property type not given | 1,604 | 5% |
Arsons in the FBI's arson returns for 2025, 32,167 in all, from every agency that sent one. Not the count in the chart above.
FBI arson master file, 2025
Dollars of damage by property, 2025
| Damage | Dollars | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Single occupancy residential | $209,880,720 | 26% |
| Other residential | $173,802,010 | 22% |
| Storage | $10,711,043 | 1% |
| Industrial and manufacturing | $20,418,719 | 3% |
| Other commercial | $125,851,035 | 16% |
| Community and public | $29,336,258 | 4% |
| Other structures | $34,976,926 | 4% |
| Motor vehicles | $64,040,679 | 8% |
| Other mobile property | $12,813,634 | 2% |
| Other property | $125,802,140 | 16% |
Estimated property damage in the FBI's arson returns for 2025, $807,633,164 in all. Left out as an entry error: $150,000,000 for one residential arson in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, a borough of about 2,500 people. Not the count in the chart above.
FBI arson master file, 2025
Offenses by whether cleared, 2025
| Cleared | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cleared, only people under 18 | 1,068 | 3% |
| Cleared, others | 9,176 | 28% |
| Not cleared | 21,923 | 68% |
Arsons in the FBI's arson returns for 2025, 32,167 in all, from every agency that sent one. Not the count in the chart above. A clearance in 2025 can close an arson from an earlier year.
FBI arson master file, 2025
Known offenders by age, 2021+
| Age | Count | Share | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 12 | 3,216 | 3% | 1.6 |
| 12 to 17 | 13,773 | 12% | 13 |
| 18 to 24 | 10,351 | 9% | 7.8 |
| 25 to 34 | 22,787 | 20% | 12 |
| 35 to 49 | 29,058 | 26% | 11 |
| 50 to 64 | 12,058 | 11% | 4.6 |
| 65 and older | 2,347 | 2% | 0.9 |
| Age unknown | 19,955 | 18% | – |
Known offenders in agencies that sent incident detail to the FBI from 2021 through 2025, every year added, covering 77% to 88% of the population a year. Not the count in the chart above. Rate: known offenders per 100,000 people in the group; – means no rate for that group.
18% have no recorded age, so each group's rate is a floor.
FBI NIBRS incident records, 2021 to 2025
Known offenders by sex, 2021+
| Sex | Count | Share | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 75,007 | 66% | 11 |
| Female | 21,284 | 19% | 3 |
| Sex unknown | 17,254 | 15% | – |
Known offenders in agencies that sent incident detail to the FBI from 2021 through 2025, every year added, covering 77% to 88% of the population a year. Not the count in the chart above. Rate: known offenders per 100,000 people in the group; – means no rate for that group.
15% have no recorded sex, so each group's rate is a floor.
FBI NIBRS incident records, 2021 to 2025
Known offenders by race, 2021+
| Race | Count | Of which placed by CrimeDB | Share | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White+MENA | 45,683 | 16,724 | 40% | 5.7 |
| Black | 25,385 | 8,826 | 22% | 15 |
| Hispanic | 16,940 | 4,850 | 15% | 6.1 |
| AIAN | 1,743 | 851 | 2% | 18 |
| Asian | 1,357 | 478 | 1% | 1.5 |
| NHPI | 384 | 109 | <1% | 14 |
| Race unknown | 22,053 | 0 | 19% | – |
Hispanic is of any race; the other groups are not Hispanic. White+MENA includes Middle Eastern and North African people.
Known offenders in agencies that sent incident detail to the FBI from 2021 through 2025, every year added, covering 77% to 88% of the population a year. Not the count in the chart above. Rate: known offenders per 100,000 people in the group; – means no rate for that group.
Hispanic is of any race; the other groups are not Hispanic. White+MENA includes Middle Eastern and North African people.
19% have no recorded race, so each group's rate is a floor.
FBI NIBRS incident records; CrimeDB's split of records with a race and no ethnicity (crimedb-ethnicity-v3); Census Bureau population estimates, 2021 to 2025
Offenses by place, 2021+
| Place | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Residence/Home | 68,362 | 43% |
| Highway/Road/Alley/Street/Sidewalk | 21,261 | 14% |
| Parking/Drop Lot/Garage | 10,591 | 7% |
| Field/Woods | 8,425 | 5% |
| Park/Playground | 5,320 | 3% |
| Commercial/Office Building | 5,281 | 3% |
| School-Elementary/Secondary | 3,608 | 2% |
| All other places | 25,845 | 16% |
| Other/Unknown | 8,864 | 6% |
Offenses in agencies that sent incident detail to the FBI from 2021 through 2025, every year added, covering 77% to 88% of the population a year. Not the count in the chart above.
FBI NIBRS incident records, 2021 to 2025
Incidents by hour of day, 2021+
| Hour of day | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight | 14,656 | 9% |
| 1 a.m. | 7,716 | 5% |
| 2 a.m. | 7,322 | 5% |
| 3 a.m. | 7,214 | 5% |
| 4 a.m. | 6,479 | 4% |
| 5 a.m. | 5,603 | 4% |
| 6 a.m. | 5,019 | 3% |
| 7 a.m. | 4,753 | 3% |
| 8 a.m. | 5,027 | 3% |
| 9 a.m. | 4,891 | 3% |
| 10 a.m. | 5,186 | 3% |
| 11 a.m. | 5,143 | 3% |
| Noon | 5,603 | 4% |
| 1 p.m. | 5,330 | 3% |
| 2 p.m. | 5,628 | 4% |
| 3 p.m. | 5,966 | 4% |
| 4 p.m. | 6,128 | 4% |
| 5 p.m. | 6,544 | 4% |
| 6 p.m. | 6,505 | 4% |
| 7 p.m. | 6,703 | 4% |
| 8 p.m. | 7,063 | 5% |
| 9 p.m. | 7,390 | 5% |
| 10 p.m. | 7,916 | 5% |
| 11 p.m. | 7,764 | 5% |
Incidents in agencies that sent incident detail to the FBI from 2021 through 2025, every year added, covering 77% to 88% of the population a year. Not the count in the chart above. 8 incidents with no hour recorded have no bar but count in every share. Many agencies record an unknown time as midnight, so that hour runs high.
FBI NIBRS incident records, 2021 to 2025