Pierce County ranks as one of the 50 places where you're most likely to get assaulted

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: Tacoma

#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


 

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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

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