In 2023, in about 4.1 million of the 5.9 million violent incidents in the United States, the offender was male, based on victims’ perceptions of offenders’ sex. Males made up 49% of the population but were the perceived offenders in 75% of violent incidents in 2023. The percentage of violent incidents involving male offenders (75%) was 1.5 times the percentage of males in the population, and the percentage of violent incidents with female offenders (20%) was less than half of the percentage of females in the population (51%).

Patterns varied in the demographic characteristics of victims and offenders (as perceived by victims) involved in violent incidents. In 2021, the percentage of violent incidents involving male offenders (77%) was about 1.6 times the percentage of males in the population (49%). The share of violent incidents involving female offenders (18%) was one-third the female percentage of the population (51%). In 2021, about 3.2 million of the 4.4 million violent incidents in the United States involved male offenders, based on victims’ perception of offenders’ sex.

For each victimization incident, the NCVS collects information about the offender (e.g., age, race and Hispanic origin, sex, and victim-offender relationship), characteristics of the crime (e.g., time and place of occurrence, use of weapons, nature of the injury, and economic consequences), whether the crime was reported to police, reasons the crime was or was not reported, and victim experiences with the criminal justice system. Based on the 2024 NCVS, the rate of violent victimization in 2024 was 23.3 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

This BJS report notes that males constitute the majority of homicide offenders in the United States. Drawing on Supplementary Homicide Reports, it states that male offenders are responsible for most murders of both male and female victims, underscoring that homicide—a core violent crime category—is predominantly committed by men.

This BJS report states: "Males represented 89.5% of the total number of offenders" in homicides during 1980–2008. It also notes that males were the offenders in the vast majority of homicides involving both male and female victims, documenting a very large male predominance in one of the most serious violent crimes.

Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Information about murder is obtained on a yearly basis from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, while data on the other violent crimes come from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) conducted by BJS.

In 1994 women were about two-thirds as likely as men to be victims of violence. Of the 10.9 million crimes of violence in 1994, 4.7 million were against women. The rate of victimization was 43 per 1,000 women, about two-thirds the 60 violent victimizations per 1,000 men. In single victim–single offender incidents, males are most often slain by males (89%). Similarly, 9 of every 10 female victims were murdered by males.

The OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book, drawing from FBI Uniform Crime Reports, presents a table for "Violent crimes" that includes total arrests and arrests by sex. The data show that male arrests for violent crimes (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault) far exceed female arrests, confirming that males are responsible for the majority of violent-crime arrests in the United States.

The annual BJS report on criminal victimization uses the National Crime Victimization Survey to estimate characteristics of offenders in violent incidents. Tables summarizing offender sex show that in most categories of violent crime, offenders reported by victims are predominantly male, with males comprising a large majority of perceived offenders compared with females.

The Council on Criminal Justice report, using FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program data, notes: "Men have consistently accounted for the majority of arrests—several times the volume of women—but the gap has narrowed considerably over time." It specifies for violent crime: "In the 1980s, women accounted for roughly 10% of all adult violent crime arrests, but by 2024, that share had more than doubled to 21%." This implies that around 79% of adult violent crime arrests in 2024 were of men, not 92%.

These findings provide the first nationally representative examination of the criminal victimization of sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). We found that the odds of violent victimization among SGMs were almost four times that of non-SGMs. SGMs experienced a rate of 71.1 violent victimizations per 1000 persons per year, compared with 19.2 per 1000 per year among non-SGM persons and had higher rates of victimization across nearly all of the violent crime subtypes.

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. This age group’s share of offenders in violent incidents (23%) was also larger than its population share. Similarly, persons ages 30 to 49 accounted for 62% of offenders in violent incidents, also lower than its share of the population. 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.

Based on the 2024 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the rate of violent victimization in 2024 was 23.3 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. A larger percentage of persons ages 12 to 17 experienced one or more violent crimes in 2024 (1.95%) than in 2023 (1.45%). The NCVS provides annual estimates of criminal victimization, including information on victims and offenders such as age, race, and sex.

The FBI’s historical "Crime in the United States" Uniform Crime Reports series provides annual tables on "Arrests by Sex" for major offense categories, including the Violent Crime Index (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault). Across years for which tables are available, males consistently account for the large majority of arrests for these violent offenses, typically around four-fifths of total violent crime arrests, with females representing the remaining share. These official data are the primary source for gender breakdowns in violent crime arrests in the United States.

Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey, Pew reports: "In 2022, those who are male, younger people and those who are Black accounted for considerably larger shares of perceived offenders in violent incidents than their respective shares of the U.S. population." It specifies: "Men, for instance, accounted for 79% of perceived offenders in violent incidents, compared with 49% of the nation’s 12-and-older population that year." Thus, victim reports also indicate that men commit the large majority of violent incidents.

In tables summarizing victim reports of offender characteristics, BJS shows that males constitute a large majority of perceived offenders in violent incidents. For example, in 2019 males were reported by victims as offenders in roughly three-quarters of violent victimizations where sex of offender was known, while females accounted for a much smaller proportion.

The 2021 NCVS tables report that among violent incidents where victims could identify the sex of the offender, males made up most offenders. The data indicate that male offenders account for a clear majority of violent crime incidents reported by victims, though the share varies by offense type and does not uniformly equal 92% across all violent crimes.

A peer‑reviewed analysis of FBI Uniform Crime Reports notes: "National arrest statistics of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports apparently show women making substantial gains on men in levels of violent crime." It explains that "Comparing the 1980s to today, women’s share of all arrests for aggravated assault increased from one-sixth of all arrests to more than one-fourth and from one-tenth to one-fifth for the Violent Crime Index (homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) (FBI 1980, 2007)." This implies that by the 2000s, men’s share of Violent Crime Index arrests was about 80% rather than over 90%.

The report states: “Males represented 90% of all homicide offenders from 1980 through 2008.” It also notes that male offenders consistently greatly outnumbered female offenders for homicide over this period. This 90% figure applies specifically to homicide, not to all violent crime categories combined.

Table 33 shows arrests by sex for various offenses in 2019. For the category of violent crime (which includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault), males account for the large majority of arrests, typically around 80% or more depending on the specific offense, while females comprise a much smaller share.

BJS reports that violent offenses are the most serious commitment offense for a large majority of male state prisoners and a smaller but still substantial share of female prisoners. The report shows that men constitute the overwhelming majority of the total state prison population and the majority of those imprisoned for violent offenses, but the female share of prisoners, including for violent crimes, is larger than 8%. This incarceration picture aligns with arrest and victimization data that men dominate violent offending but not at 92% across all violent crimes.

The article, citing U.S. Department of Justice and FBI statistics, states: "In 2014, more than 73% of those arrested in the US were males." It further notes: "Men accounted for 80.4 percent of persons arrested for violent crime and 62.9 percent of those arrested for property crime." It also reports that males constituted 98.9% of those arrested for forcible rape and 87.9% of those arrested for robbery in 2011, and that a DOJ study found males represented 89.5% of homicide offenders between 1980 and 2008.

“The most common sex is male, which is consistent with the literature on who commits crime. About 45% of all offenders were male. Female offenders make up fewer than 20% of offenders… Over a third of offenders have an unknown sex with the share being unknown decreasing over time until increasing again in the last several years.” The chapter notes that offender sex is not recorded in a large share of incidents, which limits precise percentage estimates based only on known sex.

The Sentencing Project notes that men make up the overwhelming majority of individuals incarcerated for violent offenses in the United States. Charts in the report show that males constitute more than 90% of the state and federal prison population serving time for violent crimes, highlighting the strong male predominance among convicted violent offenders.

Statista’s compilation of U.S. data reports that in 2023 there were 14,327 murder offenders who were male and 1,898 who were female, with 5,279 offenders of unknown gender. Even excluding the unknown category, males vastly outnumber females among identified murder and non-negligent manslaughter offenders, indicating that men commit the overwhelming majority of murders.

In its overview of women in the U.S. criminal justice system, the Council notes that females "made up 48% of all violent victimizations" in 2024 but does not claim parity in perpetration. The charts emphasize that while women are a large share of violent crime victims, they are a much smaller share of people arrested and incarcerated for violent offenses, implying that men commit most violent crime.

Annual government surveys from the Bureau of Justice Statistics show no recent increase in the U.S. violent crime rate. In 2021, the most recent year for which full data are available, males were victims in a slight majority of violent incidents. NCVS data include information on the sex of both victims and offenders, allowing analysis of gender patterns in violent crime.

Summarizing FBI data, the article states: "Approximately 69% of violent crimes were committed by males in 2023, according to FBI crime data." It notes that this statistic highlights a significant gender disparity in perpetration of violent crime in the United States.

The overview states that "men have been associated with higher crime rates, particularly in violent offenses, while women have been seen as less likely to engage in criminal behavior." It adds: "Men are more likely to commit violent crimes" and concludes that "men commit most crimes at a higher rate than women do" in almost every category, highlighting that the gender gap is especially pronounced for violent crimes.

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data on "Persons Arrested" consistently show that men account for the large majority of arrests for violent crimes in the United States, often around 80–90% depending on the offense category (such as homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, and rape). However, these statistics refer to arrests, not all offenses, and they do not typically aggregate into a single figure stating that men commit exactly 92% of all violent crimes.