A recent study of violent crime across the U.S. ranked Michigan the second most violent state in the nation, behind New Mexico.

In total, the study conducted by the DeMayo Law Office using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation found Michigan had over 608,000 violent crimes between 2018 and 2022, or about 1,286 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, WJIM reports.

The figure is more than four times higher than in New Jersey, the least violent state, according to the data.

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“Michigan’s local law enforcement agencies from around the state provided the data at their discretion, offering a detailed snapshot of violent crime trends in the Great Lakes State,” WJIM reports.

The data shows Michigan had 421,160 simple assaults across the five year time frame, by far the most among offenses analyzed. Aggravated assaults accounted for 139,360 of the violent crimes, while there were also 21,184 rapes, 3,064 murders, and 129 justifiable homicides.

“According to Michigan Legislature MCL – Section 780.972, murder is considered reasonable or justifiable if the individual honestly and reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the imminent death of or imminent great bodily harm to himself or herself or another individual,” the news site reports.

Michigan’s 1,286 violent crimes per 100,000 residents significantly dwarfs neighboring Wisconsin’s 661, and Indiana’s 789. Compared to states with similar populations, New Jersey was the least violent at 484 per 100,000, Georgia ranked 39^th with 645, Virginia ranked in 19^th at 901, and North Carolina ranked 17^th with 917.

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Data from Michigan State Police’s 2022 Crime in Michigan Annual Report shows the state’s high rates of violent crimes decreased from the year prior, though some crimes are up significantly from 2018, the year before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office.

While incidents of murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault all declined by more than 7% from 2021 to 2022, overall violent crime was up 0.8% since 2018, murders were up 22.3%, and aggravated assaults up 12.4%.

“Looking at the data over the last decade, Michigan’s total violent crime last year was on par with 2012. Rates largely declined from 2004 to 2015 before reversing trend in 2016 and again in 2020,” according to MLive. “Over the last five years, homicide and aggravated assault have increased in Michigan, while rape and robbery offenses have generally declined.”

The problem with violent crime is one of many plaguing the state during Whitmer’s second term, with others highlighted by a steady stream of studies and rankings that put the state in the bottom half nationally.

A recently released study from the University of Michigan shows 39% of Michiganders statewide are experiencing significant economic problems, from high rates of food insecurity, to lagging wages, to high child poverty rates, to skyrocketing transportation and housing costs.

That study followed a 2024 Kids Count Data Book released last week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Michigan League for Public Policy that ranked Michigan 34^th among states in the measure of child well-being, slipping two spots from the year prior.

The week before that, an updated Fortune 500 list included just 16 Michigan companies among the nation’s tip 500 based on revenue, a figure that has dwindled from 30 when Whitmer took office.

There’s also Michigan’s 42^nd place finish in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best States” analysis, which ranked the Great Lakes State in the bottom half of every category used to measure good governance.

The “thousands of data points to measure how well states are performing for their citizens” revealed Michigan students have below average math test scores, are less likely to graduate high school, and leave college with more debt, when compared to the national average.

The data also showed Michigan under Whitmer has a higher poverty rate, lower median household income, more industrial toxins, more drinking water violations, less renewable energy use, worse roads, and higher rates of incarceration and violent crime than most states.