Miles Wang, Former BJS Fellow, and
Alexandra Thompson, BJS Statistician
July 2025
NCJ 310142
The demographic composition of violent crime victims and offenders may vary compared to their shares of the U.S. population, and data from the 2023 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) support this. The NCVS collects information from respondents on their age and the perceived age of the offender(s) in violent crime incidents. In this report, three age groups are examined: persons ages 12 to 17, ages 18 to 29, and age 30 or older.
Key Findings
In 2023:
- The percentage of violent incidents involving victims ages 12 to 17 and the percentage of incidents involving offenders ages 12 to 17 were not significantly different from their shares of the U.S. population (figure 1).
- Persons ages 18 to 29 accounted for about one-third (33%) of victims in violent incidents, which was almost double their share of the population (18%). This age group’s share of offenders in violent incidents (23%) was also larger than its population share.
- Persons age 30 or older were victims in 58% of violent incidents, which was lower than their share of the population (73%). Similarly, this age group accounted for 62% of offenders in violent incidents, also lower than its share of the population.
Note: Violent crime includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. It excludes homicide because the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is based on interviews with victims. An incident is a specific criminal act involving one or more victims. Offender characteristics are based on victims’ perceptions of offenders. While the NCVS does not interview respondents age 11 or younger, victims may report the offender to be age 11 or younger. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and missing data for offender characteristics. See appendix table 1 for estimates and standard errors.
*Comparison group.
†Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level.
aIncludes incidents in which the perceived offender characteristics were reported. The age of the offender was unknown in 17% of incidents.
bThe NCVS population represents persons age 12 or older living in noninstitutionalized residential settings in the United States.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2023.
Methodology
The data used to produce the statistical estimates in this report are from the 2023 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS is the nation’s primary source of information on criminal victimization occurring in the United States. Data are obtained annually from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Persons age 12 or older are interviewed on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization. The NCVS does not survey persons age 11 or younger. For more information on the NCVS, see the Methodology in Criminal Victimization, 2023 (NCJ 309335, BJS, September 2024).
Victim age is reported by a survey respondent. Offender age is based on the respondent’s perception of the offender.
For specific question wording, see the 2023 NCVS Crime Incident Report questionnaire. Data used, including data documentation, are archived at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data and are available for public use. More information on downloading the NCVS public-use data in this report can be found here.
Percent of violent incidents | |||||
| Victim | Offendera | |||
Age | Percent of | Estimate | Standard error | Estimate | Standard error |
11 or youngerc | ~ | ~ | ~ | 1.0% | 0.29% |
12–17 | 9.0% | 8.7% | 1.41% | 8.9 | 1.49 |
18–29 | 18.5 | 32.9† | 2.04 | 22.6† | 1.63 |
30 or older | 72.6 | 58.5† | 2.06 | 61.7† | 2.20 |
Multiple offenders of various ages | ~ | ~ | ~ | 5.8 | 1.09 |
Note: Violent crime includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. It excludes homicide because the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is based on interviews with victims. An incident is a specific criminal act involving one or more victims. Offender characteristics are based on victims’ perceptions of offenders. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and missing data for offender characteristics.
*Comparison group.
†Difference with comparison group is significant at the 95% confidence level.
~Not applicable.
aIncludes incidents in which the perceived offender characteristics were reported. The age of the offender was unknown in 17% of incidents.
bThe NCVS population represents persons age 12 or older living in noninstitutionalized residential settings in the United States.
cWhile the NCVS does not survey victims age 11 or younger, victims may report the offender to be age 11 or younger.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2023.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and participates with national and international organizations to develop and recommend national standards for justice statistics. Kevin M. Scott, PhD, is the acting director.
This report was written by Miles Wang and Alexandra Thompson. Rebecca Bielamowicz, PhD, verified the report.
Eric Hendrixson edited the report. Jeffrey Link and Priscilla M. Fauntleroy produced this report.
July 2025, NCJ 310142