National Youth Gang Survey Analysis

Measuring the Extent of Gang Problems

Estimated Number of Gangs

Respondents provided information regarding the number of active gangs in their jurisdictions during each survey year.

  • Annual estimates of the total number of gangs in the 12-year survey period have averaged around 26,000.
  • Following a yearly decline from 1996 to a low in 2003, annual estimates have been steadily increasing in recent years.
  • The most recent estimate of more than 27,000 gangs is the highest since 1998.

Estimated Number of Gangs, 1996-2007 Bar Chart
[Text Description] | Estimated Number of Gangs, 1996–2007 data (pdf)

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Distribution of Gangs by Area Type

The distribution of gangs by area type is presented.

  • Larger cities and suburban counties remain the primary locations of gangs, accounting for more than 60 percent nationwide.
  • Smaller cities account for approximately one-third of gangs, and rural counties account for under 6 percent.

Distribution of Gangs by Area Type, 2007 Pie Chart
[Text Description]

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Number of Gangs

The annual maximum number of gangs reported from 2002 to 2007 is displayed by area type.

  • Larger cities and suburban counties are more likely to report higher numbers of gangs from 2002 to 2007.
  • Most smaller cities and rural counties report three or fewer gangs, while larger cities and suburban counties exhibit greater variation.
  • Approximately one in five larger cities report more than 30 gangs.
Annual Maximum Number of Gangs, 2002–2007
Number of Gangs Larger Cities Suburban Counties Smaller Cities Rural Counties
No Data Reported 1.6% 7.6% 8.5% 6.6%
3 or Fewer 10.0 22.1 45.1 52.0
4–6 15.6 20.0 27.1 21.1
7–15 33.6 22.5 15.8 15.8
16–30 17.3 11.4 3.5 4.6
More Than 30 22.0 16.3 0.0 0.0

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Percent Change in Estimated Number of Gangs

The percent change in estimated number of gangs between 2002 and 2007 is presented by area type and by overall estimate in study population.

  • Overall, the number of gangs in the study population increased 25 percent between 2002 and 2007.
  • Within area type, the percent change in the number of gangs between 2002 and 2007 was greatest for rural counties (64 percent) and smaller cities (41 percent), but see Distribution of Gangs by Area Type for their relative contribution overall.

Percent Change in Estimated Number of Gangs, From 2002 to 2007 Bar Chart
[Text Description]

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Estimated Number of Gang Members

Respondents provided information regarding the number of active gang members in their jurisdictions during each survey year.

  • Annual estimates of the total number of gang members in the 12-year survey period have averaged around 775,000.
  • Following a general decline from 1996 to the early 2000s, annual estimates have exceeded three-quarters of a million in recent years.
  • The most recent estimate of more than 788,000 gang members represents a statistically significant increase over the 12-year low in 2001.

Estimated Number of Gang Members, 1996-2007 Bar Chart
[Text Description] | Estimated Number of Gang Members, 1996–2007 data (pdf)

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Distribution of Gang Members by Area Type

The distribution of gang members by area type is presented.

  • Larger cities and suburban counties remain the primary locations of gang members, accounting for more than 80 percent nationwide.
  • Smaller cities account for approximately 17 percent of gang members, and rural counties account for less than 3 percent.

Distribution of Gang Members by Area Type, 2007 Pie Chart
[Text Description]

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Number of Gang Members

The annual maximum number of gang members reported from 2002 to 2007 is displayed by area type.

  • Larger cities are more likely to report higher numbers of gang members from 2002 to 2007.
  • In each of the remaining three area types, more than one in five did not provide information on the number of documented gang members in their jurisdictions.
  • The majority of smaller cities and rural counties report 50 or fewer gang members, while larger cities and suburban counties exhibit greater variation.
  • Approximately one in five larger cities report more than 1,000 gang members.
Annual Maximum Number of Gang Members, 2002–2007
Number of Gang Members Larger Cities Suburban Counties Smaller Cities Rural Counties
No Data Reported 4.7% 21.3% 22.9% 24.5%
50 or Fewer 13.5 27.3 52.5 53.0
51–200 28.1 19.6 14.8 21.2
201–500 18.9 13.2 8.8 1.3
501–1,000 13.8 7.0 1.1 0.0
More Than 1,000 21.0 11.6 0.0 0.0

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Percent Change in Estimated Number of Gang Members

The percent change in estimated number of gang members between 2002 and 2007 is presented by area type.

  • Overall, the number of gangs in the study population increased 8 percent between 2002 and 2007.
  • Within area type, the percent change in the number of gang members between 2002 and 2007 was greatest for rural counties (36 percent) and smaller cities (34 percent), but see Distribution of Gang Members by Area Type for their relative contribution overall.

Percent Change in Estimated Number of Gang Members, From 2002 to 2007 Bar Chart
[Text Description]

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Number of Gang-Related Homicides

The annual maximum number of gang-related homicides reported from 2002 to 2007 is displayed by area type.

  • Gang-related homicides were most likely to occur in larger cities between 2002 and 2007, with nearly two-thirds documenting an annual maximum of one or more during this time period.
  • More than 10 percent of the larger cities reported a high of 10 or more gang-related homicides.
  • In suburban counties, approximately one-third of the agencies recorded one or more gang-related homicides over the six-year period.
  • In smaller cities and rural counties, more than three-fourths of the agencies reporting gang problems did not report a gang-related homicide in their jurisdictions from 2002 to 2007.
  • Across all area types, those reporting one or more gang-related homicides over the six-year period most frequently reported an annual maximum of one or two.
Annual Maximum Number of Gang-Related Homicides,
2002–2007
Number of Gang-Related Homicides Larger Cities Suburban Counties Smaller Cities Rural Counties
No Data Reported 2.3% 7.2% 2.5% 3.9%
Zero 31.5 55.4 77.5 79.6
1–2 31.5 19.2 15.5 13.2
3–9 21.5 13.6 4.6 3.3
10 or More 13.3 4.5 0.0 0.0

Analysis for this section pertains only to law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems. Please see the Prevalence of Gang Problems section.

Table of Contents

Suggested citation: National Youth Gang Center (2009). National Youth Gang Survey Analysis. Retrieved [date] from http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Survey-Analysis