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Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary Education

Incidence of Nonfatal Victimization at School and Away From School

Last Updated: July 2024
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This indicator also appears under School Crime and Safety.
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In 2022, the rate of nonfatal victimization at school (victimization occurring when students were on school property or on their way to or from school) for students ages 12–18 was 22 victimizations per 1,000 students, and the rate of nonfatal victimization not in connection with school was 16 victimizations per 1,000 students.
Data from the 2022 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)1, 2 indicated that students ages 12–18 experienced 568,100 total victimizations (i.e., thefts3 and nonfatal violent victimizations, the latter of which includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, or going to or from school (“at school”) and 412,600 total victimizations not in connection with school (“away from school”).4 The total nonfatal victimization rates in 2022 were 22 victimizations per 1,000 students at school and 16 victimizations per 1,000 students away from school.
The NCVS is a self-reported survey that is administered annually from January 1 to December 31. NCVS estimates are based on the number and characteristics of crimes that respondents experienced during the prior 6 months, not including the month in which they were interviewed. Therefore, the 2022 survey covers crimes experienced from July 1, 2021, to November 30, 2022; the midpoint of the reference period is March 15, 2022. Crimes are classified by the year of the survey, not by the year of the crime.

Select a subgroup characteristic from the drop-down menu below to view relevant text and figures.

All available findings Age group Locale Race/ethnicity Sex or gender Socioeconomic status (SES) Time series
Figure 1. Rate of nonfatal victimization against students ages 12–18 per 1,000 students, by type of victimization and location: Selected years, 2012 through 2022
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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— Not available.

† Not applicable.

1 In reports prior to 2018, “violent victimization excluding simple assault” was labeled as “serious violent victimization.” Interpret the 2020 and 2021 estimates for violent victimization excluding simple assault at school with caution; the coefficients of variation (CV) for these estimates are between 30 and 50 percent.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Due to the methodology used to create the 2016 revised National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data, victimization estimates among students ages 12–18 in 2016 are not comparable to estimates for other years. “Total victimization” includes theft and all violent victimization. “Theft” includes attempted and completed purse-snatching, completed pickpocketing, and all attempted and completed thefts, with the exception of motor vehicle thefts. Theft does not include robbery, which involves the threat or use of force and is classified as a violent crime. “All violent victimization” includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. “At school” includes in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and going to or from school. Although this indicator (“Incidence of Nonfatal Victimization at School and Away From School”) and the indicator “Prevalence of Criminal Victimization at School” present information on similar topics, this indicator is based solely on data collected in the NCVS, while the “Prevalence” indicator is based on data collected in the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the NCVS as well as demographic data collected in the NCVS. This indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to the NCVS, while the “Prevalence” indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to both the NCVS and the SCS. Inclusion criteria for the NCVS and SCS differ slightly. For example, students who are exclusively homeschooled are able to complete the NCVS but not the SCS. The NCVS data in this indicator are reported in accordance with Bureau of Justice Statistics statistical standards. The population size for students ages 12–18 was 26,128,300 in 2022. In 2020, 2021, and 2022, schools across the country suspended or modified in-person classes to mitigate the risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Students may have spent less time at school than in previous years due to these modified procedures. Estimates may vary from previously published reports. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2012 through 2022. See Digest of Education Statistics 2023, table 228.20.

The total victimization rate decreased between 2012 and 2022, both at school and away from school.5 At school, the total victimization rate decreased from 52 to 22 victimizations per 1,000 students. Away from school, the total victimization rate decreased from 38 to 16 victimizations per 1,000 students. [Time series ]
At school between 2012 and 2022,
  • the theft victimization rate decreased from 24 to 6 victimizations per 1,000 students;
  • the violent victimization rate decreased from 29 to 16 victimizations per 1,000 students; and
  • the violent victimization rate excluding simple assault did not change significantly (3 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2022).
[Time series ]
Away from school between 2012 and 2022,
  • the theft victimization rate decreased from 18 to 4 victimizations per 1,000 students;
  • the violent victimization rate decreased from 20 to 11 victimizations per 1,000 students; and
  • the violent victimization rate excluding simple assault did not change significantly (5 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2022).
[Time series ]
From 2021 to 2022, the total victimization rate at school increased from 7 to 22 victimizations per 1,000 students.6 During this time period,
  • the theft victimization rate increased from 2 to 6 victimizations per 1,000 students but remained lower than the rate in 2019 (9 victimizations per 1,000 students), just prior to the coronavirus pandemic; and
  • the violent victimization rate increased from 5 to 16 victimizations per 1,000 students.7
With the exception of theft, rates of victimization at school in 2022 did not differ significantly from the rates in 2019, just prior to the coronavirus pandemic. [Time series ]
The total victimization rate away from school was not statistically different from 2021 to 2022. Similarly, the rates of theft, total violent victimization, and violent victimization excluding simple assault away from school did not change significantly between 2021 and 2022. [Time series ]
Victimization Rates by Individual and Household Characteristics
Figure 2. Rate of nonfatal victimization against students ages 12–18 per 1,000 students, by location, type of victimization, and sex: 2022
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Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
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NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. “Total victimization” includes theft and violent victimization. “Theft” includes attempted and completed purse-snatching, completed pickpocketing, and all attempted and completed thefts, with the exception of motor vehicle thefts. Theft does not include robbery, which involves the threat or use of force and is classified as a violent crime. “Violent victimization” includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. “At school” includes in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and going to or from school. Although this indicator (“Incidence of Nonfatal Victimization at School and Away From School”) and the indicator “Prevalence of Victimization at School” present information on similar topics, this indicator is based solely on data collected in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), while the “Prevalence” indicator is based on data collected in the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the NCVS as well as demographic data collected in the NCVS. This indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to the NCVS, while the “Prevalence” indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to both the NCVS and the SCS. Inclusion criteria for the NCVS and SCS differ slightly. For example, students who are exclusively homeschooled are able to complete the NCVS but not the SCS. The NCVS data in this indicator are reported in accordance with Bureau of Justice Statistics statistical standards. The population size for students ages 12–18 was 26,128,300 in 2022. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding and missing data on student characteristics. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2022. See Digest of Education Statistics 2023, table 228.25.

Based on the 2022 survey, there were no statistically significant differences between male and female students in the rates of total victimization, theft, and violent victimization at school or away from school. [Sex or gender]
Figure 3. Rate of nonfatal victimization against students ages 12–18 per 1,000 students, by location, type of victimization, and age: 2022
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
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! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. “Total victimization” includes theft and violent victimization. “Theft” includes attempted and completed purse-snatching, completed pickpocketing, and all attempted and completed thefts, with the exception of motor vehicle thefts. Theft does not include robbery, which involves the threat or use of force and is classified as a violent crime. “Violent victimization” includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. “At school” includes in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and going to or from school. Although this indicator (“Incidence of Nonfatal Victimization at School and Away From School”) and the indicator “Prevalence of Victimization at School” present information on similar topics, this indicator is based solely on data collected in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), while the “Prevalence” indicator is based on data collected in the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the NCVS as well as demographic data collected in the NCVS. This indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to the NCVS, while the “Prevalence” indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to both the NCVS and the SCS. Inclusion criteria for the NCVS and SCS differ slightly. For example, students who are exclusively homeschooled are able to complete the NCVS but not the SCS. The NCVS data in this indicator are reported in accordance with Bureau of Justice Statistics statistical standards. The population size for students ages 12–18 was 26,128,300 in 2022. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding and missing data on student characteristics. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2022. See Digest of Education Statistics 2023, table 228.25.

Based on the 2022 survey, at school,
  • the total victimization rate was higher for students ages 12–14 (29 victimizations per 1,000 students) than for students ages 15–18 (15 victimizations per 1,000 students);
  • the theft victimization rate for students ages 12–14 did not differ significantly from the rate for those ages 15–18; and
  • the violent victimization rate was higher for students ages 12–14 (22 victimizations per 1,000 students) than for students ages 15–18 (10 victimizations per 1,000 students).
[Age group]
Away from school, the total victimization rate was lower for students ages 12–14 (11 victimizations per 1,000 students) than for students ages 15–18 (21 victimizations per 1,000 students) in 2022. The violent victimization rate for students ages 12–14 did not differ significantly from the rate for those ages 15–18.8 [Age group]
In 2022, the total victimization rate—either at school or away from school—generally did not differ significantly by student race/ethnicity9 or by urbanicity of students’ residence (urban, suburban, rural). [Locale ] [Race/ethnicity ]
At school, the total victimization rate did not differ significantly by household income in 2022.10 Away from school, the total victimization rate in 2022 for students living in households earning $100,000 or more per year (8 victimizations per 1,000 students) was
  • not statistically different from the rate for those living in households earning $50,000 to $99,999 per year;
  • lower than the rate for those living in households earning $25,000 to $49,999 per year (22 victimizations per 1,000 students); and
  • lower than the rate for those living in households earning less than $25,000 per year (31 victimizations per 1,000 students).
[Socioeconomic status (SES) ]

1 For general technical notes related to data analysis, data interpretation, rounding, and other considerations, please refer to the Reader’s Guide.

2 Although this indicator (“Incidence of Nonfatal Victimization at School and Away From School”) and the indicator “Prevalence of Criminal Victimization at School” present information on similar topics, this indicator is based solely on data collected in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), while the “Prevalence” indicator is based on data collected in the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the NCVS as well as demographic data collected in the NCVS. This indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to the NCVS, while the “Prevalence” indicator uses data from all students ages 12–18 who responded to both the NCVS and the SCS. Inclusion criteria for the NCVS and SCS differ slightly. For example, students who are exclusively homeschooled are able to complete the NCVS but not the SCS. The NCVS data in this indicator are reported in accordance with Bureau of Justice Statistics statistical standards.

3 “Theft” includes attempted and completed purse-snatching, completed pickpocketing, and all attempted and completed thefts, with the exception of motor vehicle thefts. Theft does not include robbery, which involves the threat or use of force and is classified as a violent crime.

4 “Students” refers to those ages 12–18 whose educational attainment did not exceed grade 12 at the time of the survey. An uncertain percentage of these persons may not have attended school during the survey reference period. These data do not take into account the number of hours that students spend at school or away from school.

5 Due to the methodology used to create the 2016 revised National Crime Victimization Survey data, victimization estimates among students ages 12–18 in 2016 are not comparable to estimates for other years and are thus excluded from the analyses in this indicator.

6 In 2020, 2021, and 2022, schools across the country suspended or modified in-person classes to mitigate the risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Students may have spent less time at school than in previous years due to these modified procedures.

7 Due to the variance in the data (the coefficient of variation is greater than 30 percent), comparisons were not made between the rates of violent victimization excluding simple assault at school between 2021 and 2022.

8 Due to the variance in the data (the coefficient of variation is greater than 30 percent), comparisons were not made between the rates of theft victimization away from school for students ages 12–14 and 15–18.

9 Data for all students who were of a race/ethnicity other than Black, Hispanic, or White were combined for reporting and analyses. These students included those who were American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Pacific Islander, and of Two or more races.

10 Income data for 2022 were imputed. For more information, see Criminal Victimization, 2022, available at https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/criminal-victimization-2022.

Supplemental Information

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Table 228.20 (Digest 2023): Number of nonfatal victimizations against students ages 12–18 and rate of victimization per 1,000 students, by type of victimization and location: 1992 through 2022;
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Table 228.25 (Digest 2023): Number of nonfatal victimizations against students ages 12–18 and rate of victimization per 1,000 students, by type of victimization, location, and selected student characteristics: 2022
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Aggravated assault At/during school Racial/ethnic group Rape (National Crime Victimization Survey) Robbery (National Crime Victimization Survey) Sexual assault (National Crime Victimization Survey) Simple assault Theft (National Crime Victimization Survey) Urbanicity (National Crime Victimization Survey) Victimization Victimization rate Violent victimization (National Crime Victimization Survey and School Crime Supplement) Violent victimization excluding simple assault (National Crime Victimization Survey and School Crime Supplement)
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Previous versions of this indicator available in the Indicators of School Crime and Safety reports.
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Suggested Citation

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Incidence of Nonfatal Victimization at School and Away From School. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a02.
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