In a previous blog post, we investigated violent crime rates in the City of Atlanta over the last decade and a half. We found that despite public perceptions, violent crime hit a historic low in 2024.  This time, we take a look at what property crime rates looked like last year, and how they compare to historical data.

We utilize data provided through the Atlanta Police Department’s (APD) Open Data Portal, which provides information on all crimes reported including type, location, and date reported.

Figure 1 presents property crime rates for the City of Atlanta from 2009 through 2024.

Figure 1: Property Crime Rates in the City of Atlanta, 2009-2024

As this chart above illustrates, property crime rates declined steadily from 2009 to 2019, followed by a sharp drop in 2020, and then some oscillation between 2021 and 2024. The rate for 2024 of 384.6 incidents per 10,000 population mark is quite close to the 2019 (pre-pandemic) level of 375.1 per 10,000 and represents a 52% drop since 2009.

But not all types of property crime are equal. Figure 2 breaks property crime down into the three types of burglary, larceny, and auto theft.

Figure 2: Property Crime Rates by Type in the City of Atlanta, 2009-2024

Figure 2 (above) shows all three types of property crime have trended down since 2009. Larceny, which is by far the most common form of property crime, dipped in 2020, accounting for the drop we observed in overall property crime that year. Then, larceny rebounded slightly in 2021, and after essentially returned to the trendline. However, the larceny rate did rise slightly (about 4%) year-over-year between 2023 and 2024. The burglary rate has declined steadily over the entire time period– down 84% since 2009– and was basically flat year-over-year. And while it was more common than auto theft for most of the 2010s, switched places with auto theft in 2018. Auto theft declined from 2009 until 2019, but has rebounded some in the 2020s. Auto thefts spiked in 2023, largely due to an outbreak of Hyundai and Kia thefts, but are down about 25% year-over-year.

What parts of the city of Atlanta have seen the most improvement? And what areas might still be seen as hot spots? Figure 3 presents change in property crime rates over time by Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU).[1]

Figure 3: Property Crime Rates by Atlanta NPU, 2009-2024

As figure 3 above reveals, property crime has trended down across all NPUs over the last 16 years, but the declines have been steepest in NPUs M, V, X, and J. Property crime is down year-over-year in 19 of the 25 NPUs, but it rose in NPUs I, S, M, P, Q, and J.

Want to explore further? We have updated our Atlanta Crime Dashboard to include 2024 data:

 

Notes:

[1] Atlanta’s 25 NPUs are lettered A-Z (only there is no NPU-U), proceeding from A in the northwest corner to Z in the southwest corner of the city. See this map from the City of Atlanta’s planning department for a reference: https://gis.atlantaga.gov/docs/npu/npuall.pdf