Daily levels of concern in Florida have remained high each survey year since 2019. Currently, 61% of Floridians worry about their safety every day, making Florida the eighth most concerned state in the US.
Year over year, general daily concern in Florida fell 3%, but specific worry about violent crime, gun violence, and property crime all increased. Nearly three in four respondents told us they think crime is increasing overall, which matches rising rates of concern.
One reason general concern may be waning is fewer reports of personal experience with both property crime and gun violence. Gun violence experience fell 29%—from 17% in 2020 to 12% in our most recent survey. Those who reported a run-in with property crime dropped from 21% of respondents to 19% in 2021.
On the flip side, 16% reported a personal experience with violent crime—a 33% spike between 2020 and 2021, landing Florida just above the national average of 15%.
Surprisingly, Florida went from the most-concerned state for package theft to ninth, with worry dipping from 62% to 61% year over year. Florida is also home to 3 of the 10 safest cities for package theft. Porch pirates seem to skip Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Survey respondents reported no change in experience with package theft, holding steady at 28% for the second consecutive year—the ninth lowest in the country and 17% below the national average of 34%.
We asked Florida residents which crimes they worry may happen to them. See if Floridians are concerned about the same crime issues as the rest of the country.
Florida didn’t provide enough data to the FBI this year so we’re unable to update state crime rates. Here’s the latest data available, from the 2022 reporting year:
Violent crime held steady year over year at 3.8 incidents per 1,000 people, putting Florida below the national violent crime rate of 4.0 per 1,000. But the Sunshine State did one better when it comes to property crime—reporting 17.7 incidents per 1,000 versus 19.6 nationwide.
Florida’s lower crime rates don’t line up with the state’s high level of anxiety about crime and safety. Despite nearly one in two survey respondents reporting high concern about property crime happening to them, incidence of property crime actually dropped by 17% year over year.
For better crime reporting in Florida in the future, we recommend telling local lawmakers and law enforcement agencies that this information matters to you.