Home security is an important topic for homeowners and renters across the country. Whether it is worrying about burglars committing break-ins, individuals committing home invasions, or being the victim of a general invasion of privacy, there are a lot of concerns to keep you up at night.
On this page, we’ve collected the latest statistics on property crime and home security including data on burglaries, theft and the home security industry.
Key Home Security Statistics
- Property crime occurs nearly 5 times more often than violent crime. A total of 6.45 million property crimes were reported across the U.S. in 2020, compared with 1.31 million violent crimes. 1
- The most common property crime is larceny (theft), according to the 2020 data. 1
- Burglary made up 16% of all property crimes in the U.S in 2020. 1
- Security cameras are the most common home security products owned by Americans in 2022. 4
- The average value of valuables stolen in residential burglaries in the U.S. was $7,937 in 2020. 5
- Theft was the 6th most frequent type of homeowners insurance claim filed in 2020. 6
- The doorbell camera market was valued at $1.92 billion in 2021. 7
- Being the victim of a home burglary when you are not home is the 5th highest crime concern for survey respondents in the U.S., after data theft, identity theft, car theft and bullying. 8
- The violent crime rate in 2020 was 4.6% higher than it was in 2019 in the United States.9
- 56% of Americans believe that local crime has increased and 78% believe that overall crime rates in the U.S have increased, according to a Gallup poll in 2022. 12
Burglary Statistics
Property crime encompasses multiple types of crime including burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Let’s take a closer look at residential burglary. According to FBI data, there are four categories of burglary: completed burglary, forcible entry, unlawful entry, and attempted forcible entry. These reflect the stage at which the crime was discovered or stopped.
- The number of burglaries and the overall burglary rate declined in 2020 from the year prior. 9
- The vast majority of burglaries occur at a private home. The number of residential burglaries is 10 times higher than the next-most-common location, rental storage facilities.13
- The overall burglary rate in 1990 in the United States was four times higher than it was in 2020. 9
- More residential burglaries occur during the daytime than at night. 14
- Burglaries that occur during the daytime have a higher average value of stolen goods than burglaries at night. 14
- 56% of home burglaries occurred by forcible entry either through the front door, back door, windows or garage door of a home in 2019. 15
- 38% of burglaries were classified as unlawful entry, which typically occur through an unlocked door, in 2019. 15
- 60% of convicted burglars say they would seek another location to commit a home break-in if an alarm system was present. 16
- The average theft payout for a home insurance claim was $4,415 between 2016 and 2020. 6
Additional Property Crime Statistics
While home burglary is often the chief security concern for homeowners and renters, there are other property crimes that also deserve some attention.
- The larceny rate declined by 6% in 2020 from the year before. 17
- The total value of stolen property was $971 billion in 2020. 14
- The total value of recovered property in 2020 was only $54 billion. 14
- The most commonly stolen items were consumable goods (like food, beverages and hygiene products) and currency in 2020.14
- The motor vehicle theft rate increased by 9% in 2020 from the year prior. 18
Geographical Property Crime Statistics
Property crime statistics vary by region and by state across the country. Let’s take a look at some of the data behind where in America the burglary rates were the highest and the lowest.
- The average burglary rate in the United States was 314 occurrences per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020. That equated to 1,015,000 reported burglaries. 19
- New Mexico had the highest burglary rate with 648 burglary occurrences per 100,000 residents, followed by Oklahoma. 19
- New Hampshire had the lowest burglary rate, at 103 occurrences per 100,000 residents. 19
- When comparing regions, the Northeast had the lowest burglary rate and the South had the highest in 2019. 20
Home Security Market Statistics
The home security product market continues to grow as homeowners and renters across the country look for extra protection and peace of mind and to avoid becoming a victim of burglary.
- The global home security systems market was valued at $56.9 billion in 2022. 2
- By 2027, the global home security systems market is expected to be $84.4 billion 2
- Less than half of American households have a full home security system installed. 3
- The social media app Nextdoor had approximately 58 million users in 2020. This app is commonly used to report crimes and suspicious neighborhood activity. 10
- Nearly 40% of Americans do not utilize any home security measures. 16
- ADT is the largest American home security company by total annual gross revenue. 21
- The global smart home security market was valued at $3.27 billion in 2022. 16
**Due to incomplete crime data for 2021 and 2022 from the FBI and Bureau of Justice statistics, the above crime statistics from those sources will reference 2020, when the data was much more complete.
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