20,896 Arrests Occured at U.S. College Campuses

20,896

Total Arrests

14,123

On-Campus Arrests

For the calendar year 2023, 20,896 arrests made at U.S. colleges. The arrest rate per 1,000 students is 0.27 at U.S college campues. By violation type, there were 2,260 weapon-related arrests, 10,197 drug law violation arrests, and 8,439 liquor law violation arrests.

Of the 14,123 total on-campus arrests at U.S. colleges,

  • 9.81% were weapon-related, and the on-campus weapon-related arrests rate per 1,000 students is 0.02.
  • 46.19% were drug law violation arrests, and the on-campus durg law violation arrest per 1,000 students is 0.08.
  • 44.00% were liquor law vioation arrests, and the on-campus liquor law violation arrest rate per 1,000 students is 0.08.

For all arrests, there were 14,123 on-campus, 973 non-campus, 5,800 public property, and 5,178 residence hall arrests made last year. (The number for on-campus arrests includes residence hall arrests).

Arrests statistics
TotalOn-CampusNon-CampusPublic PropertiesResidence Halls1Rate per 1000 Students
Total20,89614,1239735,8005,1780.27
Weapons (carrying, processing, etc.)2,2601,3851367392780.03
Drug Law Violation10,1976,5245543,1191,7920.13
Liquor Law Violation8,4396,2142831,9423,1080.11
Rate Per 1000 Students0.270.180.010.070.07-
1 The counts on Residence Halls are included in on-campus statistics.

Arrests Statistics by State

The following table summarizes and compares the number of arrests. It only includes on-campus incidents, excluding ones at non-campus and pubic properties. You can sort the table by each column by touching/clicking the column title.

Last Update: April 22, 2025 | Data source: CSS (Campus Safety and Security), OPE
On-campus Arrests by State
StateEnrollmentTotal ArrestsRate per 1000 StudentsWeapons (carrying, processing, etc.)Drug Law ViolationLiquor Law Violation
Alaska279,062160.101123
Alabama1,036,5692100.321415739
Arkansas313,4922581.152814189
American Samoa3,77000.00000
Arizona2,332,4323980.216217175
California7,152,8071,1880.2425085385
Colorado727,4763680.6645150173
Connecticut872,933200.051271
District of Columbia820,20320.05020
Delaware269,642180.26882
Florida8,356,8792540.063914471
Federated States of Micronesia10,44042.11103
Georgia2,055,6904480.3283205160
Guam4,40000.00000
Hawaii210,44560.06150
Iowa856,2573150.696115194
Idaho400,141710.3423831
Illinois2,155,1911500.16454956
Indiana4,972,5681,1100.3020403687
Kansas804,1011830.37811560
Kentucky1,534,5622260.211318825
Louisiana718,4133070.524319074
Massachusetts1,318,3211000.14111178
Maryland1,583,194600.06113910
Maine223,52820.07011
Marshall Islands2,43200.00000
Michigan1,713,421610.17222019
Minnesota731,5921110.29124158
Missouri1,527,7822680.3330111127
Northern Marianas3,75900.00000
Mississippi440,0201420.45249721
Montana199,6261871.14148138
North Carolina1,891,9776380.49143294201
North Dakota115,435791.4932155
Nebraska416,4421580.5878071
New Hampshire276,4341460.9004142
New Jersey1,786,503620.08312110
New Mexico406,8371240.34105658
Nevada561,178770.16174812
New York4,053,0661010.06503615
Ohio1,607,1973960.3918124254
Oklahoma564,9981270.41156745
Oregon808,927640.13121537
Pennsylvania1,813,7061,1470.8529298820
Puerto Rico773,42310.03100
Palau38700.00000
Rhode Island206,283370.201036
South Carolina955,7296300.8288262280
South Dakota70,8512184.67035183
Tennessee934,6632890.5631153105
Texas10,555,0942,2620.27891,230943
Utah1,762,0331670.16710753
Virginia2,843,9613110.166578168
Virgin Islands33,65500.00000
Vermont70,04440.11103
Washington1,135,958690.0751945
Wisconsin1,063,4572010.322313246
West Virginia288,1371200.7123880
Wyoming48,0522125.08139172
Total78,675,57520,8960.271,3856,5246,214