Home Safety and Security Stats and Facts
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Safety and security risks are part of everyday life, but there’s a lot we can do to minimize the odds. We’ve got the facts behind the fears to help you learn how likely things like fires and burglaries really are.
Plus, we’ve got tips, resources, and advice to help make your life—at home or on the road—safer.
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Find the safety stats and facts you need
From our expert
We beefed up our advice for you with input from our expert advisor, criminal justice and theft expert Dr. Ben Stickle. Check the end of each section for extra tips from him.
Property crime statistics and facts
You are more likely to be a victim of property crime than any other type of crime. Prevention is the key to reducing your risk of victimization.
- Property crime makes up over 85% of all crime in the US as of 2021.1
- Approximately 20 property crimes were reported per 1,000 people in 2020.1
- There were nearly 4.8 million property crimes reported to the FBI in 2021.1
- 27% of Americans reported a personal experience with property crime in 2021, and 50% think a property crime could happen to them.3
- Package theft is the number one property crime concern across the US.3
- Over $737 billion worth of property was reported stolen in 2021, and about 12% was recovered.2
- Burglaries account for over 15% of all property crimes as of 2021.
- Larceny-theft accounted for nearly 71% of all property crimes in 2021.
Expert tip: Protect your ride
—Dr. Ben Stickle, criminal justice and theft expert
- 41 states submitted substantial property crime data to the FBI in 2021. Of the property crimes occurring in those states, 50.9% occurred in the South, followed by the Midwest with 24.09%, the West with 20.6%, and the Northeast with 4.3%.3
Incidence of property crimes 2021
Burglary statistics and facts
Burglary isn’t the most common property crime in the US, but it accounted for 15% of all property crimes in 2021.
- Nearly 1,700 burglaries happen in the US every day—or almost 620,000 annually.
- A burglar struck once every 50 seconds in the US in 2021—but 2020 saw 7% fewer burglaries year over year.1
- The highest rate of burglaries committed with a household member present occur in homes occupied by single females with children.5
The average cost for monitored home security is $31.65 per month. That works out to less than $400 per year to have someone else keep an eye on your home. The average burglary costs victims up to 550% more.
Where and when burglaries occur
- About 61% of all burglaries reported in 2021 were on residential property.1
- Historically, the risk of burglary is higher for rental properties than occupant-owned properties.4
- Consider the advantages of a wireless security system for renters.
- The rate of household burglaries tends to be highest in summer and lowest in winter or spring.5
- In 2021, 56% of all residential burglaries (in which a time was reported) occurred during the daytime.1
- Install interior and exterior motion-activated home security cameras so you can see what’s going on in and around your home when you’re away.
- Being the victim of a home burglary can increase the risk of future victimization for burglary, as offenders often target the same residence more than once.
Learn how to properly secure your home before vacation.
- Consider live view cameras to keep an active eye on your property.
- Ask a trusted neighbor to keep an eye on your property while you are out of town.
How burglaries occur
- Roughly 56% of all burglaries involved forcible entry.1
- Damaging, removing, or destroying a door is the most common type of entry used in burglaries.5
- Install a SafeWise-recommended high-security door to make your home less penetrable.
- Burglars gain entry via open or unlocked doors or windows in more than half of all unoccupied residential break-ins.5
- Add a smart lock to your home automation and home security system to control your door locks remotely.
Our expert shared these basics to help thwart burglars:
- Stop mail when you’re out of town.
- Ask a neighbor to watch your home.
- Join or start a neighborhood watch.
- Use social media to keep tabs on what’s going on (including crime and suspicious behavior) in your neighborhood.
- Maintain clear lines of sight to public areas—the risk of someone observing criminals makes them second-guess. Don’t give them something to hide behind.
Home security statistics and facts
According to the 2023 State of Safety report, 76% of Americans use some kind of security measure to protect their home.
Use our Home Security Checklist to safeguard your home against a break-in.
- Dog ownership has been found to reduce the likelihood of burglary and other property crime.
- About 60% of convicted burglars say the presence of an alarm would steer them to a different home to burglarize.6
- ADT has more than 6 million customers, which is more than any other US home security company.7
- Some homeowners insurance providers offer discounts up to 20% when homeowners install home security systems.
Violent crime statistics and facts
People tend to fear violent crimes the most, but you’re far less likely to fall victim to a violent crime like assault than a property crime like theft.
- The number of violent crimes reported in 2021 is 29% higher than the number reported in 2020.2
- 4 violent crimes were reported per 1,000 Americans in 2020.1
- 15% of Americans reported a personal experience with violent crime in 2021.3
- 49% of Americans think a violent crime could happen to them.3
- In 2021, a violent crime—including aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery—occurred every 45 seconds.1
- A robbery occurs every 4.3 minutes in the United States.1
—Dr. Ben Stickle, criminal justice and theft expert
- Between 2003 and 2007, a household member was present in roughly one million burglaries and became a victim of violence about 26% of the time.5
- In 65.1% of all violent burglaries committed from 2003 to 2007, the perpetrators and victims knew each other.5
- The South reported more incidents of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter than any other region of the country, while the Northeast reported the fewest.1
Fire safety statistics and facts
Local fire departments responded to over 1.3 million fire calls in 2021.8 Protect your home and loved ones with our complete Home Fire Safety Guide.
- 25% of all reported fires occur in residential homes.8
- On average, nearly 1,000 house fires happen every day in the US.9
- We recommend installing a smart smoke alarm as part of your home security system so emergency personnel are alerted to a potential fire even if you’re not home.
- In 2021, an estimated $12.7 billion in property was damaged in US fires.8
- Store valuable and irreplaceable items in a fire-resistant safe to help protect them from damage.
- Cooking is the leading cause of house fires, accounting for 49% of all residential fires.9
- Cooking-related fires peak on holidays with most occurring around Thanksgiving and Christmas.10
Learn how your furniture can contribute to the danger of a house fire. Watch our interview with Dr. Marilyn Black, United Laboratories Vice President and Senior Technical Advisor.
- Approximately 3 out of every 5 deaths caused by home fires occur on properties with no—or inoperable—smoke alarms.11
- The risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms.11
- The majority—67%—of smoke alarm failures are caused by missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.11
- About 5 million US homes don’t have a smoke alarm, despite being required by most localities across the country.11
- Keep a fire extinguisher handy, especially in the kitchen.
- Have a fire blanket ready to smother a fire or help you get out of your home safely.
- Create a fire evacuation plan for your home and review it quarterly.
Carbon monoxide statistics and facts
CO poisoning is the second-most common type of poisoning death in the US that’s not related to medication.
- Accidental CO poisoning kills about 420 people in the US every year.12
- Learn the dangers of CO and consider enhancing your monitored home security system with a CO detector to reduce the risk of poisoning.
- Between 2005 and 2016, 849 people died from CO incidents involving portable generators.13
- Due to the dangers of CO, 38 states require homes to have CO detectors, either via state statute or building code.14
Carbon monoxide is odorless and invisible. One of the only ways to detect it is with a CO detector. Watch our video about how CO detectors work and learn why you need them in your home.
Child safety statistics and facts
It’s hard to think about children suffering injuries that can lead to death. But we have more than statistics. We’ve also got a full suite of resources to keep little ones safe, including our list of child safety tips broken out by age groups.
Emergency room visit statistics
- Around 283,000 children visit the emergency room (ER) each year for traumatic brain injuries. 45% of those visits are due to sport and playground-related injuries.18
- Approximately 96,000 ATV-related injuries were treated in ERs in the United States in 2019. 1 in 4 of these injuries involved children younger than 16 years of age.19
- There were an estimated 67,500 accidental pediatric poisonings treated in ERs in 2019—that’s a 5% decrease compared to 2018. 20
- In 2019, 85% of all accidental poisonings in kids happened at home.20
Review our poison-proofing home guide to create a safer household for your children.
Suffocation and drowning statistics
- Unintentional suffocation is the most frequent cause of injury deaths for children up to 1 year of age.15
- Unintentional drowning is the leading cause of injury deaths for children 1 to 4 years old.16
- Sadly, 3 children die every day from drowning.16
- Annually, nearly 90 children drown inside the home, with about 65% of these deaths occurring in bathtubs.17
Whether it’s playing on the swings, climbing a tree, or navigating the family pool, our tips help make your backyard a safe place to play.
Older adult safety statistics and facts
The number of Americans aged 65 or higher has grown rapidly as Baby Boomers continue to reach this milestone. Baby Boomers tend to be healthier and more active than previous generations, but it’s still smart to pay attention to the tools and resources available to help us stay safe as we age.
- Someone aged 65 or higher falls every second of every day in the US.21
- 1 in 4 people 65 or older fall each year.21
- Make your loved one’s home safer by installing grab bars, securing rugs, and illuminating dark areas.
- Falls are the number one cause of unintentional injury death for people 65 years and older, leading to over 32,000 deaths annually.21
Panic pendants—which are available as part of many monitored home security and medical alert systems—can help your loved one get care quickly in the case of a fall or other emergency.
Here's some more tech we've researched for older adults.
- The highest prescription painkiller overdose rate occurs among middle-aged adults.22
- Home safety devices like automated pill dispensers can help prevent accidental overdoses.
- People aged 45 to 64 have some of the highest rates of suicide, accounting for 31% of all reported suicides.15
- In 2019, over 250,000 adults aged 65 and higher were treated in the ER for car crash injuries, with around 8,000 resulting in death.23
- Every day, around 540 older adults are injured in a car crash, and around 20 die from their injuries.23
Did you know that you can use Amazon Echo devices to stay connected to older loved ones? The free Alexa Care Hub makes it easy to stay informed about daily activity, connect to emergency help, and stay in touch with voice or video.
See our video about Alexa Care to learn more.
Car safety statistics and facts
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 5 to 24.15
Distracted driving statistics
- Each day in the United States, about 8 people are killed—and more than 1,000 are injured—in crashes reported to involve a distracted driver.24
- In 2019, almost 40% of high school students admitted texting or emailing at least once while driving in the past 30 days.24
- Texting and emailing during driving is more common in older teens, jumping from 31% for 16-year-olds to 60% for 18-year-olds.24
We’ve got tips and resources to help you talk to your teen about safe driving, explain the dangers of texting while driving, and learn how a GPS tracker can help your teen build safer driving habits.
Impaired driving statistics
- Sadly, 32 people in the US die every day in car crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver—that’s 1 death every 45 minutes.25
- Alcohol-involved crashes made up 30% of all traffic-related deaths in the US in 2020. That same year, over 1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.25
- In 2018, 12.6 million people reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs or marijuana.25
Child car safety statistics
- In 2020, more than 600 children under the age of 12 died in a motor vehicle accident, and 38% of these children weren’t restrained in any way.26
- Properly installed car seats can reduce deadly injuries by 67% for infants and toddlers.27
- Mississippi has the most child-car-crash fatalities, and Washington, DC, Rhode Island, and Delaware tie for the fewest.28
Take a look at our Best Car Seats Guide for more child car safety facts and step-by-step instructions about how to properly install your car seat and buckle your kiddos up correctly.
Weather-related car safety statistics
- More than 70% of roads in the US are located in snowy regions, and 70% of the US population lives in these regions.29
- Each year, over 192,000 people are injured in snow- and ice-related accidents, and more than 2,200 are killed.29
- 24% of all weather-related car crashes happen on slushy, icy, or snowy pavement, and 15% occur during snowfall or sleet conditions.29
Check out our winter driving safety tips to learn how vehicle maintenance, defensive driving, and assessing weather conditions before you hit the road can lower your odds of a wintry weather crash.
Sources
- FBI, Crime Data Explorer, "Crime Trends." Accessed March 28, 2023.
- FBI, Crime Data Explorer, "Crime Trends." Accessed March 28, 2023.
- SafeWise, "The State of Safety in America 2023," March 2023. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Shannan Catalano, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Victimization During Household Burglary," September 2010. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Janet L. Lauritsen, Nicole White, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Seasonal Patterns in Criminal Victimization Trends," June 2014. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Joseph B. Kuhns, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, "Understanding Decisions to Burglarize from the Offender's Perspective," December 2012. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- ADT, "About ADT," Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Shelby Hall and Ben Evarts, National Fire Protection Association, "Fire Loss in the United States," September 2022. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Marty Ahrens and Radhika Maheshwari, National Fire Protection Association, "Home Structure Fires," October 2021. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Marty Ahrens, National Fire Protection Association, "Home Cooking Fires," July 2020. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Marty Ahrens, National Fire Protection Association, "Smoke Alarms in US Home Fires," February 2021. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- CDC, National Center for Environmental Health, "Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning Prevention," January 2023. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Matthew V. Hnatov, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Incidents, Deaths, and In-Depth Investigations Associated with Non-Fire Carbon Monoxide from Engine-Driven Generators and Other Engine-Driven Tools, 2005–2016," June 2017. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- National Conference of State Legislatures, "Carbon Monoxide Detector Requirements, Laws, and Regulations," March 2018. Accessed March 17, 2022.
- CDC, WISQARS, "Leading Causes of Death Reports," February 2020. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- CDC, "Drowning Prevention," January 2023. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission, "In-Home Drowning Information Center." Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Kelly Sarmiento, Karen E. Thomas, Jill Daugherty, et al, CDC, "Emergency Department Visits for Sports- and Recreation-Related Traumatic Brain Injuries Among Children—United States, 2010–2016," March 15, 2019. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- John Topping, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, "2020 Report of Deaths and Injuries Involving Off-Highway Vehicles with More than Two Wheels," December 2020. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Angie Qin, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Unintentional Pediatric Poisoning Injury Estimates for 2019," January 2021. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Important Facts about Falls," August 6, 2021. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- CDC, "Prescription Painkiller Overdoses in the US," November 2011. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- CDC, "Older Adult Drivers," June 2022. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- CDC, "Distracted Driving," April 2022. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- CDC, "Impaired Driving: Get the Facts," December 2022. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- CDC, "Child Passenger Safety: Get the Facts," October 2022. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Thomas M. Rice, Craig L. Anderson, American Journal of Public Health, "Effectiveness of Child Restraint Systems for Children Aged 3 Years or Younger During Motor Vehicle Collisions: 1996–2005," February 2009. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Cathy Habas, SafeWise, "Car Crash Stats: How Effective Are Car Seats?," September 2022. Accessed March 28, 2023.
- Federal Highway Administration, "Road Weather Management Program, Snow and Ice," February 2023. Accessed March 28, 2023.
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