The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a decline in reported hate crimes in the United States in 2025, but the agency's data show that Jewish Americans continued to be disproportionately affected by religion-based violence and vandalism.
"the largest year-to-year decline in violent crime rates since FBI estimations began in 1936."
According to the FBI, the total number of reported hate crime incidents fell roughly 7 per cent, from 11,404 incidents in 2024 to 10,606 in 2025. Within that total, there were 2,572 religion-based hate crimes.
Disproportionate impact on Jewish Americans
Of the religion-motivated offences, the FBI recorded 1,647 incidents targeting Jewish people — about 64 per cent of religion-based hate crimes in 2025. When measured against all reported hate crimes, incidents against Jewish people numbered 1,818, or roughly 13.8 per cent of the total.
By contrast, FBI data show that Arab people were listed as the targets in 130 incidents (5 per cent of religion-based crimes) and Muslim people in 233 incidents (9 per cent of religion-based crimes).
The disproportion is underscored by population figures cited by the FBI and outside researchers: Jewish Americans number about 7.5 million, or approximately 2.4 per cent of the U.S. population, according to Pew Research Centre estimates. Black people, by comparison, accounted for the largest single category of hate crimes in 2025 with 3,048 incidents; Black Americans make up about 14.4 per cent of the population, per Pew data.
Nature of the offences
The FBI dataset provides a breakdown of the offences committed against Jewish people in 2025, showing that the majority involved property damage and vandalism. The most common categories and counts were:
- Vandalism/property destruction: 1,003 incidents
- Intimidation: 541 incidents
- Simple assault: 118 incidents
- Aggravated assault: 51 incidents
- Other larceny: 39 incidents
Smaller but serious categories included burglaries or breaking and entering (12), thefts from buildings (11), robberies (7) and arson (6). The FBI also recorded a number of other criminal classifications linked to anti-Jewish incidents, including weapon-law violations (5), extortion or blackmail (4), murders and non-negligent manslaughter (3), pornography and obscene material (3), and isolated counts in categories such as kidnapping, identity theft and a weapon-of-mass-destruction offence (1 each in various categories).
| Offence type | Number |
|---|---|
| Vandalism / property destruction | 1,003 |
| Intimidation | 541 |
| Simple assault | 118 |
| Aggravated assault | 51 |
| Murders / non-negligent manslaughter | 3 |
Context and implications
While the overall decline in reported hate crimes is notable — the FBI characterised 2025 as showing the agency's "largest year-to-year decline" in violent crime rates since federal estimations began in 1936 — the concentration of religion-based hostility against Jewish people raises questions for civil-rights groups, community leaders and law enforcement about the persistence of targeted bias even amid broader decreases.
The FBI figures do not provide explanatory detail for shifts in reporting or motive beyond the categorical tallies. Observers typically caution that changes in the number of reported incidents can reflect multiple factors, including variations in reporting practices, public awareness campaigns, local law enforcement classification and underlying crime trends.
Advocates for affected communities have in past years urged continued vigilance, targeted prevention measures and investigative resources to address both property-targeted offences such as vandalism and more violent assaults. The FBI data also highlight that while Jewish Americans bore a disproportionate share of religion-based incidents, other communities remain vulnerable to hate-motivated crimes across racial, ethnic and religious lines.
Federal and local officials will likely examine the 2025 figures in coming months as part of policymaking, resource allocation and community outreach to address bias-motivated crimes and support victims.
