Photo provided by DepositPhotos
Preliminary FBI data shows property crime fell an estimated 12.4% from 2024 to 2025. A new survey from Tri-State Gate finds only 28% of Americans feel safe at home, and 72% have adjusted at least one daily behavior because of security fear.
The two findings describe the same country. Gallup's October 2025 crime poll found only 30% of adults saying crime rose in their local area over the past year, a 19-point drop from 2024, and just 12% described local crime as extremely or very serious. Public perception has caught up with the crime statistics. Household behavior hasn't.
People are also reading…
The Most-Feared Crime Happened to 8% of Households
Survey respondents named a break-in while the family is home as the event they fear most. It happened to 8% of surveyed households over the past two years, and a Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis of national victimization data found a household member was present in about 28% of household burglaries. Most burglars arrive when nobody is home.
The precautions people describe cost little and recur daily: light timers running while the house sits empty, package deliveries rerouted so boxes never wait on the porch.
Cameras Are in 74.9 Million Households, and 81% of Owners Check Daily
SafeHome.org's 2026 Home Security Market Report, based on a survey of 2,435 U.S. adults, estimates 74.9 million households now have security cameras, with adoption climbing 19 points since 2023 to 61% of homes.
The Tri-State Gate survey measured how owners use them. Among camera owners, 81% check footage daily or whenever an alert fires, and 33% admit they can't help themselves.
56% Won't Buy Physical Security Until a Crime Occurs
A majority of respondents, 56%, say they won't invest in physical security until a crime actually happens to them. At the same time, 67% say they would pay more to live behind controlled access.
That willingness shows up in sale prices. A study published in the Journal of Real Estate Research, which examined home sales across 11 gated communities in one Tennessee county, found homes behind gates sold for a premium of roughly $30,000 over comparable non-gated properties. The premium goes to buyers who chose the barrier upfront, while the survey's wait-and-see majority holds off until they become victims themselves.
Burglary Worry Hit a 25-Year Low While Scam Worry Tops the List
Worry about home burglary fell to 34% in 2025, its lowest point in Gallup's tracking back to 2000. The crimes Americans now worry about most are identity theft, at 69%, and being tricked by financial scammers, at 53%.
Fear of physical crime is fading while fear of digital crime replaces it. The behavior built around the old fear stays put, and the market expects more of it: SafeHome. org found 28% of Americans without security cameras plan to buy them within the next 12 months. The gap between recorded crime and household behavior is set to widen for at least another year.
