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Digest of Education Statistics
2023 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 229.30.Percentage of public schools recording incidents of crime at school, number of incidents, and rate per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected school characteristics: School year 2021-22
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
School characteristic Total number of schools Violent incidents Theft/larceny3 Other incidents4
All violent1 Serious violent2
Percent of schools
recording
Number of incidents Rate per 1,000 students Percent of schools
recording
Number of incidents Rate per 1,000 students Percent of schools
recording
Number of incidents Rate per 1,000 students Percent of schools
recording
Number of incidents Rate per 1,000 students
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
     Total  85,300   (180) 67.3   (1.53) 857,500   (44,310) 18.0   (0.92) 19.7   (0.81) 70,000   (6,520) 1.5   (0.14) 20.2   (0.81) 67,000   (3,990) 1.4   (0.08) 57.3   (1.20) 412,600   (13,570) 8.6   (0.28)
School level
  Elementary 51,200   (150) 55.2   (2.40) 335,300   (36,030) 14.7   (1.58) 12.6   (1.27) 23,400   (4,440) 1.0   (0.20) 10.9   (1.29) 15,500   (2,650) 0.7   (0.11) 41.1   (1.82) 73,100   (5,720) 3.2   (0.25)
  Middle 15,200   (50) 89.7   (1.20) 295,800   (16,590) 31.9   (1.84) 30.4   (1.84) 23,500   (4,490) 2.5   (0.48) 32.2   (1.53) 20,700   (1,850) 2.2   (0.20) 82.3   (1.40) 121,900   (4,580) 13.1   (0.51)
  Secondary/high 16,900   (50) 84.6   (1.32) 207,500   (10,280) 14.2   (0.68) 32.1   (1.44) 21,600   (1,980) 1.5   (0.13) 38.3   (1.66) 30,200   (2,040) 2.1   (0.14) 84.6   (1.42) 208,600   (9,950) 14.3   (0.63)
  Combined/other 2,000   (30) 61.1   (4.92) 18,900   (4,850) 18.3   (5.37) 17.1   (3.24) 1,500 ! (660) 1.5 ! (0.67) 12.7   (3.55) 500 ! (180) 0.5 ! (0.19) 51.7   (5.20) 9,000 ! (2,740) 8.7 ! (2.74)

Enrollment size







































  Less than 300  19,700   (120) 54.9   (3.41) 104,000 ! (32,360) 23.4 ! (7.45) 12.7   (1.87) 8,800 ! (3,160) 2.0 ! (0.72) 10.0   (1.76) 4,700   (980) 1.1   (0.22) 43.7   (3.37) 35,000   (4,340) 7.9   (0.99)
  300 to 499  26,000   (90) 64.2   (2.47) 168,300   (13,240) 16.1   (1.32) 15.2   (1.34) 13,100   (2,100) 1.3   (0.20) 14.9   (1.51) 11,500   (2,180) 1.1   (0.20) 49.4   (2.49) 59,900   (3,970) 5.7   (0.37)
  500 to 999  30,500   (30) 70.8   (1.93) 382,700   (28,730) 19.6   (1.48) 22.2   (1.34) 31,400   (5,430) 1.6   (0.28) 22.9   (1.40) 24,300   (2,240) 1.2   (0.12) 63.3   (1.60) 144,000   (6,550) 7.4   (0.32)
  1,000 or more  9,000   (20) 92.0   (1.25) 202,400   (11,610) 15.3   (0.89) 39.8   (1.48) 16,600   (1,620) 1.3   (0.12) 48.6   (2.06) 26,400   (2,740) 2.0   (0.20) 90.2   (1.52) 173,700   (9,550) 13.1   (0.67)

Locale







































  City  23,800   (110) 70.0   (1.99) 325,200   (25,220) 22.9   (1.74) 20.7   (1.70) 27,600   (5,280) 1.9   (0.37) 20.9   (1.53) 21,200   (2,530) 1.5   (0.18) 58.0   (1.82) 137,700   (7,060) 9.7   (0.49)
  Suburban  27,800   (110) 65.6   (2.34) 281,500   (23,770) 15.2   (1.30) 18.6   (1.60) 17,500   (2,730) 0.9   (0.15) 19.4   (1.32) 23,200   (1,940) 1.2   (0.10) 57.1   (2.20) 146,800   (7,750) 7.9   (0.40)
  Town  10,700   (60) 70.5   (3.34) 91,800   (8,920) 18.2   (1.68) 20.1   (2.37) 8,700   (1,760) 1.7   (0.34) 20.0   (2.06) 6,600   (800) 1.3   (0.15) 60.9   (3.26) 49,600   (4,850) 9.8   (0.89)
  Rural  23,000   (40) 65.2   (2.79) 158,900   (31,810) 16.0   (3.26) 19.9   (1.67) 16,100   (3,440) 1.6   (0.35) 20.5   (1.78) 16,000   (1,980) 1.6   (0.19) 55.2   (2.57) 78,500   (5,410) 7.9   (0.57)

Percent of students who are American 
   Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, 
   Black, Hispanic, Pacific Islander,
   or of Two or more races







































  0 to 25 percent  27,900   (980) 64.7   (2.66) 186,900   (32,840) 13.9   (2.46) 21.3   (1.69) 19,000   (3,740) 1.4   (0.28) 20.1   (1.33) 22,500   (2,300) 1.7   (0.16) 57.4   (2.33) 105,200   (5,100) 7.8   (0.40)
  26 to 50 percent  18,400   (950) 60.5   (2.34) 146,500   (12,400) 13.3   (0.88) 17.5   (1.55) 11,700   (1,810) 1.1   (0.16) 17.7   (1.46) 12,900   (1,380) 1.2   (0.12) 50.2   (2.27) 86,600   (5,600) 7.9   (0.49)
  51 to 75 percent  15,400   (820) 72.0   (3.40) 236,000   (26,390) 24.3   (2.32) 20.6   (2.24) 13,800   (1,860) 1.4   (0.19) 21.9   (1.89) 14,300   (1,800) 1.5   (0.17) 61.1   (3.26) 87,100   (5,910) 9.0   (0.60)
  76 to 100 percent  23,500   (900) 72.7   (2.07) 288,000   (20,890) 21.2   (1.38) 19.0   (1.40) 25,500   (4,980) 1.9   (0.35) 21.1   (1.59) 17,300   (2,100) 1.3   (0.15) 60.4   (2.33) 133,600   (9,390) 9.9   (0.60)

Percent of students eligible for 
   free or reduced-price lunch







































  0 to 25 percent  16,300   (920) 55.1   (3.10) 79,300   (7,790) 7.7   (0.71) 17.0   (1.82) 8,000   (1,410) 0.8   (0.14) 15.7   (1.44) 12,300   (1,760) 1.2   (0.16) 47.0   (2.76) 56,500   (4,350) 5.5   (0.40)
  26 to 50 percent  20,000   (880) 66.9   (3.02) 172,400   (32,620) 15.3   (2.79) 18.4   (1.52) 13,800   (3,180) 1.2   (0.28) 21.9   (2.04) 15,800   (1,300) 1.4   (0.12) 59.7   (2.34) 102,500   (5,920) 9.1   (0.48)
  51 to 75 percent  18,400   (1,040) 71.2   (2.90) 206,800   (18,290) 20.1   (1.62) 22.9   (2.31) 12,700   (1,780) 1.2   (0.16) 20.7   (1.78) 17,200   (2,530) 1.7   (0.24) 56.5   (2.57) 95,000   (7,000) 9.2   (0.59)
  76 to 100 percent  30,600   (1,140) 71.7   (2.20) 398,900   (31,410) 25.3   (1.87) 20.1   (1.51) 35,400   (5,870) 2.2   (0.34) 21.1   (1.39) 21,700   (2,210) 1.4   (0.14) 61.7   (2.11) 158,500   (11,430) 10.1   (0.56)
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
1"All violent" incidents include "serious violent" incidents (see footnote 2) as well as physical attack or fight without a weapon and threat of physical attack without a weapon.
2"Serious violent" incidents include rape or attempted rape, sexual assault other than rape, physical attack or fight with a weapon, threat of physical attack with a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.
3Theft/larceny is taking things worth over $10 without personal confrontation.
4"Other incidents" include possession of a firearm or explosive device; possession of a knife or sharp object; distribution, possession, or use of illegal drugs or alcohol; inappropriate distribution, possession, or use of prescription drugs; and vandalism.
NOTE: Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school. "At school" was defined to include activities that happen in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Respondents were instructed to include incidents that occurred before, during, or after normal school hours or when school activities or events were in session. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2021-22 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2022. (This table was prepared December 2023.)

2023 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest