How much does each individual crime cost victims and society on average in the U.S.?
That was the subject of a 2010 paper by Kathryn McCollister, Michael French and Hai Fang, in which they tabulated the direct, indirect and total cost of various types of crime in the United States. We've taken the data they originally presented in terms of 2008 U.S. dollars and updated in to be in terms of 2014 U.S. dollars to create both the chart below and the more detailed table presented below it:
The table below provides these total figures and also breaks down both the tangible (direct) costs and the intangible (indirect) costs of each type of crime.
| Tangible Plus Intangible Per-Offense Cost for Different Crimes in the U.S., 2014 U.S. Dollars | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of Offense | Tangible Cost | Intangible Cost | Total Cost |
| Murder | $1,415,085 | $9,295,559 | $9,891,157 |
| Rape/Sexual Assault | $45,423 | $219,828 | $265,121 |
| Aggravated Assault | $21,441 | $104,631 | $117,841 |
| Robbery | $23,534 | $24,858 | $46,588 |
| Arson | $18,090 | $5,652 | $23,237 |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | $11,599 | $288 | $11,861 |
| Stolen Property | $8,780 | N/A | $8,780 |
| Household Burglary | $6,793 | $353 | $7,115 |
| Embezzlement | $6,034 | N/A | $6,034 |
| Forgery and Counterfeiting | $5,797 | N/A | $5,797 |
| Fraud | $5,541 | N/A | $5,541 |
| Vandalism | $5,351 | N/A | $5,351 |
| Larceny/Theft | $3,879 | $11 | $3,889 |
We should note that the total cost of each type of crime does not necessarily equal the sum of the tangible and intangible costs, as there is some overlap in the accounting of various costs that go into the individual tangible and intangible categories.
Reference
McCollister, Kathryn E., French, Michael T. and Fang, Hai. The Cost of Crime to Society: New Crime-Specific Estimates for Policy and Program Evaluation. Drug Alcohol Depend. Apr 1, 2010; 108(1-2): 98–109. Published online Jan 13, 2010. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.12.002. Table 5.