Burglary Cases in Fargo, ND-MN Rose in 2020

Burglary – defined as the unlawful entry of a structure, such as a home or business, to commit a theft or felony – is the most serious nonviolent offense tracked by the FBI. There were just over 1 million burglaries reported in the United States in 2020, a 7% decline from the previous year.

Most burglaries in the U.S. are committed in residential properties, and more often during the day than at night. These crimes are typically committed for monetary gain and result in billions of dollars in stolen property each year. Not only do victims of burglaries typically suffer material loss, but they can also be impacted psychologically. Many burglary victims have reported heightened anxiety, difficulty sleeping, feelings of vulnerability, and even post-traumatic stress disorder in some cases.

While burglary rates have been declining in most of the country, some major metropolitan areas are bucking the national trend, reporting a year-over-year uptick in break-ins.

In the Fargo metro area, which covers parts of North Dakota and Minnesota, the total number of burglaries climbed by 38.4% – from 1,164 in 2019 to 1,611 in 2020. The resulting increase in the area’s population-adjusted burglary rate was one of the largest of any U.S. metro areas.

The reported burglary rate in Fargo rose by 178.8 incidents for every 100,000 people from 2019 to 2020. Due in part to the increase, the metro area’s burglary rate of 649 reported incidents per 100,000 people is higher than the national rate of 314 burglaries per 100,000 people.

All crime data used in this story is from the FBI’s 2019 and 2020 Uniform Crime Reports. We considered all U.S. metropolitan areas for which the boundaries defined by the FBI match the boundaries as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.