Large states usually have more registered offenders in total because they have more people. But does raw count really show sex offender density by state? Not really.
In this report, we offer a better way to approach this. We compare registered sex offenders per 100,000 people by state to show where the concentration is highest and lowest — and why those rankings often differ from raw counts.
TL;DR
- Montana has the highest registered sex offender rate among states: about 579 per 100,000 residents
- Minnesota has the lowest rate: about 22 per 100,000 residents
- Texas has the highest total number of registered sex offenders: 107,123
- A high total count does not mean a high per-capita rate
- Guam ranks among the highest in the dataset by rate, despite a small population
- Across all states and territories in the United States, the weighted average is about 206 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents
How we calculated sex offenders per capita by state
We calculate sex offenders per capita by state and present the results as the number of registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents.
This is the formula we rely on:
Registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents = (registered offender count ÷ population) × 100,000
For this, we use state-level offender counts from the Nannostomus dataset and combine them with population estimates from sources such as Census data and World Population Review.
Note: This calculation shows the concentration of registered sex offenders in each location. It does not measure crime rates or risk levels.
Registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents by state
Below is the full ranking of sex offenders per capita by state, presented as registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents. The table includes all 50 states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories to give a complete view of the dataset. Each location is ranked by rate, which allows direct comparison regardless of population size. You can also see total offender counts alongside population to understand how rankings shift between count and rate.
What state has the most registered sex offenders per capita?
Montana has the highest registered sex offender rate by state, with 579 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents. Guam ranks second at 507, followed by Alaska at 488 and South Dakota at 424. Michigan rounds out the top five with 400 per 100,000, which makes it one of the few larger-population states near the very top of the ranking.
The rest of the top 10 includes Kansas (376), Tennessee (366), Arkansas (358), Wyoming (347), and Colorado (336).
What state has the lowest sex offender rate?
Minnesota has the lowest sex offender rate by state in this dataset, with 22 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents. Oregon follows with 43, then New Jersey at 53 and Massachusetts at 57. Washington closes the lowest five with 73 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents.
The rest of the bottom 10 includes Puerto Rico (75), California (87), Rhode Island (92), Nevada (121), and the Virgin Islands (133).
The spread inside this group is wide: Minnesota’s rate is far below every other location in the bottom 10, while Nevada and the Virgin Islands already sit above 100 per 100,000 residents. Still, all 10 locations remain well below the dataset-wide weighted average of about 206 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents.
Is a high sex offender count the same as a high per-capita rate?
A high total count does not always mean a high sex offender rate by state.
Total count shows how many registered offenders are listed in a state or territory. The per-capita rate shows how that number compares with the size of the population. That difference matters because large states can have high offender counts without ranking at the top by rate.
Texas is the clearest example. It has the highest total count in the dataset, with 107,123 registered sex offenders. But when adjusted for population, Texas has about 334 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents, which puts it 11th by rate.
The reverse also happens. Guam has a much lower total count than large states, but ranks 2nd by rate at 507 per 100,000 residents. Wyoming follows the same pattern: it ranks low by total offender count, but much higher by rate because its population is small.
How Many Registered Sex Offenders Are There Per 100,000 People in the U.S.?
Across all states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories in this dataset, there are about 206 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents.
Many locations sit far above this benchmark. Montana has 579 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents, Guam has 507, and Alaska has 488. At the lower end, Minnesota has 22, Oregon has 43, and New Jersey has 53.
Conclusion
The ranking of registered sex offenders by state per capita shows why raw registry counts are not enough.
The clearer metric is registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents. It puts every state, Washington D.C., and U.S. territory on the same scale, so you can compare large and small populations without letting population size distort the picture.
Across the dataset, the weighted rate is about 206 registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents.
Nannostomus provides access to structured sex offender registry data through two formats: CSV file delivery and API access. Both options use the same underlying dataset, so teams can choose the format that fits their workflow — bulk data delivery for internal storage or API access for direct product integration.
