National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

Statistics & Data on Youth Violence

(Printable Version)

This section provides statistics on youth violence and related topics. Information is presented in the following subsections:

Selected Recent Publications and Data Briefs
Demographic Data
Data on Youth Risk Behaviors
Youth Violence Data by Topic
Interactive Data Tools
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Tools
Raw Data/Datasets
Data Sources

Selected Recent Publications and Data Briefs

This subsection provides links to selected publications and briefs that include data relating to youth violence and related topics released or published within the past 12 months.

• Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey. (PDF 884 KB)
  Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U. S. Department of Justice.
• Crime in the United States. 2008.
  Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Electronic Media and Youth Violence: A CDC Issue Brief for Researches. (PDF 11.1 MB)
  Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Health, United States, 2008. (PDF 12.1 MB)
  Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2007.
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
• Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2009. (PDF 2.1 MB)
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Available at:
• Juvenile Arrests 2008. (PDF 760 KB)
  Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

Demographic Data

This subsection provides links to data on selected demographic characteristics known to have an association with youth violence.

Age and Sex

• U.S. Population by Sex and Selected Age Groups: 2008.
  Source: American FactFinder, U.S. Census Bureau.

Education

• Averaged Freshman Graduation Rates by Race and Ethnicity: School Year 2004–05; Tables 1-5.
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
• High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2007.
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
• Percentage of private schools with 12th-graders, number of graduates, graduation rate, and percentage of graduates who attended 4-year colleges, by selected characteristics: United States, 2006-2007; Table 13.
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
• Public high school graduates, by state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 1980-81 and through 2006-07; Table 105. (PDF 9.88MB)
  Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2008, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
• Selected statistics on enrollment, teachers, dropouts, and graduates in public school districts enrolling more than 15,000 students: 1990, 2000, 2004-05, and 2006; Table 91. (PDF 9.9MB)
  Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2008, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.

Employment/Unemployment Rates

• Employment Situation.
  Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
• Employment Status.
  Source: 2006 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau.

Poverty

• Percent of Related Children Under 18 Years Below Poverty Level in the Past 12 Months: 2006.
  Source: American FactFinder, U.S. Census Bureau.
• Poverty. United States: 2005-2007.
  Source: American FactFinder, U.S. Census Bureau.

Data on Youth Risk Behaviors

This subsection provides links to data on youth risk behaviors.

Comprehensive Reports

• Crime in Schools and Colleges. (PDF 3.0MB)
  Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey. (PDF 884 B)
  Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U. S. Department of Justice.
• Digest of Education Statistics 2008. (PDF 9.88MB)
  Source: U.S. Department of Education.
• Health, United States, 2008. (PDF 12.1MB)
  Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Electronic Media and Youth Violence: A CDC Issue Brief for Researches. (PDF 11.1 MB)
  Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• National Trends in Risk Behaviors.
  Source: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Trends in the Prevalence of Selected Risk Behaviors for All Students National YRBS: 1991—2007 (PDF 178 KB)
  Source: YRBSS, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context. Girls Study Group, Understanding and Responding to Girls’ Delinquency. (PDF 2.74 MB)
  Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U. S. Department of Justice.
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: United States, 2007 (PDF 1.05 MB)
  Source: MMWR, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Substance Use

• 2008 Drug Trends Data Tables and Figures.
  Source: Monitoring the Future Study, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).
• Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth. National Results on Adolescent Drug Use. Overview of Key Findings 2007. (PDF 783 KB)
  Source: U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2007: Volume I, Secondary School Students. (PDF 4.1 MB)
  Source: U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2007: Volume II, College Students & Adults Ages 19-45. (PDF 2.1 MB)
  Source: U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. (PDF 1.3 MB)
  Source: Office of Applied Studies, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
• Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. (PDF 1.4 MB)
  Source: Office of Applied Studies, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
• Trends in the Prevalence of Selected Risk Behaviors for All Students: National YRBSS, 1991–2007. (PDF 178 KB)
  Source: YRBSS, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Youth Violence and Illicit Drug Use. (PDF 212 KB)
  Source: Office of Applied Studies, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Truancy/School Absences/Drop Out

• High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2007.
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
• Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2006 (Tables 1-13). (PDF 584 KB)
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
• Percentage of students who did not go to school on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey because they felt they would be unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.
  Source: YRBSS, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Youth Violence Data by Topic

This subsection provides links to data on youth violence by topic.

Arrests/Crime/Justice

• Crime and Victims Statistics. (Self-reported criminal victimization).
  Source: National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Crime in the United States. 2007.
  Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Crime in the United States. 2008.
  Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. Available at:
• Estimated Arrests of Persons Under Age 18 in the United States: 2000–2005.
  Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U. S. Department of Justice.
• Juvenile Arrests 2007. (PDF 240 KB)
  Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Juvenile Arrests 2008. (PDF 760 KB)
  Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report.
  Source : Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Statistical Briefing Book. Law Enforcement and Juvenile Crime.
  Source: : Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Prison Statistics.
  Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Violent Crime Rates by Age of Victim (self-reported criminal victimization from the National Crime Victimization Survey).
  Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

Homicide

• Death Rates for Homicide, by Sex, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Age: United States, Selected Years, 1950–2005 (Table 45). (PDF 6 MB)
  Source: Health, United States, 2007, National Center for Health Statistics.
• School-Associated Student Homicides: United States, 1992–2006.
  Source: MMWR, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Surveillance for Violent Deaths: National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2005.
  Source: MMWR, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports, 1999-2005.
  Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

School/College Violence

• Crime in Schools and Colleges. (PDF 3.1 MB)
  Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• Indicator 28: School Violence and Safety: The Condition of Education 2008. (PDF 214 KB)
  Source: National Center for Education and Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
• Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2009. (PDF 2.1 MB)
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Available at:
• Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007 Data Tables.
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
• Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007.
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
• Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2008. (PDF 1.85 MB)
  Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
• School-Associated Student Homicides: United States, 1992-2006.
  Source: MMWR, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• School-Associated Violent Death Study.
  Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS).
  Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Student Victimization in US Schools: Results from the 2005 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (Tables B-B6). (PDF 773 KB)
  Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S Department of Education.
• Violence-Related Behaviors Among High School Students: United States, 1991-2003.
  Source: MMWR, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Violent Victimization of College Students, 1995-2002.
  Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

Weapon-Related/Firearm-Related/Gun-Related Violence

• Fatal Injuries Among Children by Race and Ethnicity: United States, 1999-2002.
  Source: MMWR, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Firearms and Crime Statistics.
  Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Guns.
  Source: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
• Percentage of students who carried a gun on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System Survey.
  Source: YRBSS, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Interactive Data Tools

This subsection provides links to interactive data tools that allow users to gain more data on their topics of interest. These resources permit searching by specific variables of interest.

KIDS COUNT, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

• CLIKS: Community-level Information on Kids. State and county level based kid data on education, health, family economics, child welfare, parent's education, and demographics.
• KIDS COUNT Data Center. State- and city-level data for over 100 measures of child well-being in an online database.
  

U.S. Census Bureau

• American Community Survey. 2000-2007 Population Profiles.
• American Fact Finder.
• Community Economic Development HotReport.
• DataFerrett.
• State & County QuickFacts.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Research Data Center. National Center for Health Statistics.
• National Electronic Injury Surveillance System – All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP).
• National Violent Death Reporting System.
• Snap Shots of State and Population Data: SNAPS.
• Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System: WISQARS.
• Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research: WONDER.
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).
• Youth Violence National and State Statistics at a Glance.

U.S. Department of Justice

• Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement Databook. Juvenile offenders in residential placement facilities by age, sex, race/ethnicity, offense, type of facility, and placement status.
• Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990-2007. National, state, and county annual data tables of the age, sex, race, and ethnicity characteristics of juvenile.
• FBI Arrest Statistics: 1994-2005. National, state, and county data.
• Easy Access to the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2006. National and state data by victim and offender characteristics.
• Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report.

U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

• Respondent Characteristics by Recency of Substance Use. Quick Table Options.
• Parental Involvement and Attitudes by Recency of Substance Use. Quick Table Options.
• Perception of Peer Substance Use by Recency of Substance Use. Quick Table Options.
• Social Activities by Recency of Substance Use. Quick Table Options.
• State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2005-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. (PDF 580 KB)
  Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Tools

This subsection includes links to tools that use GIS technology for viewing and analyzing data.

CDC WONDER

• CDC WONDER provides online databases that utilize a rich ad-hoc query system for the analysis of public health data, including mortality data. Reports and other query systems are also available.

Find Youth Info

• Mapping tools to identify the community's federal, state, and local resources; concentration of census demographics, and more.

KIDS COUNT, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

• CLIKS: Community-level Information on Kids Map Query.

National Center for Education Statistics

• School District Demographics System.

SMART

• The Socioeconomic Mapping and Resource Topography (SMART) system provides a mapping capacity along with resource information about federally-funded programs to address delinquency and crime. Users can create maps and retrieve statistics using the socioeconomic, crime, and resource data provided at various geographic levels, including the state, county, and local levels. Users can also map their own data using addresses they have, bookmark locations, save analyses, and print reports. Currently, archival data, mapped at the national, state, county, census tract, and place/street levels, are available.

U.S. Census Bureau

• American FactFinder provides maps that show geographic patterns in statistical data, such as population, median income, poverty level, and percent of population who have completed high school.

Raw Data/Datasets

This subsection provides links to sources for public-use and restricted-use data, including downloadable data and data that require the assistance of the listed organization to use.

KIDS COUNT, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

• CLIKS: Community-level Information on Kids.

Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

• Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

U.S. Census Bureau

• American Community Survey: 2008.
• Public Use Mircodata Sample: 2008.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• National Violent Death Reporting System Data Collection and Access.
• Research Data Center. National Center for Health Statistics.
• Statistical Export and Tabulation System. National Center for Health Statistics.
• Youth Violence National and State Statistics at a Glance.

Data Sources

This subsection provides links to selected federal sites and resources that have data relating to youth violence.

• Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
• Youth Violence: Data Sources.
• Youth Violence: Facts at a Glance. (PDF 84 KB)

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The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last Updated: 1/5/2010