LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KTSM) – A new analysis of crime statistics has revealed that New Mexico has the second-highest rate of violent crime of any state based on the most recent data available from 2020.
The research, conducted by an Austin-based law firm, revealed that New Mexico had approximately 778 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
That mark was only surpassed by Alaska, which witnessed almost 838 violent crimes per 100,000 residents of the state in 2020.
The law firm used FBI crime data to come up with these rankings. For the purposes of the study, a “violent crime” constituted murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
Three Southern states rounded out the top five on the list – Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Each of those states reported at least 630 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
The study noted that the majority of those offenses were carried out by men between the ages of 20 and 29 in a residential home.
The national average was 398.5 crimes per 100,000 U.S. residents, according to their analysis.
The state of Maine saw the lowest amount of violent crime in 2020 with just over 108 incidents reported per 100,000 people.
