When a resident asks "is this community safe?", or an owner asks why door hardware belongs in the capital plan, it helps to have real numbers. Here's what the two main U.S. sources, the FBI's crime reporting program and the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), say about burglary, and what it means for the doors you manage.
Every figure below links to its source. Where we did the math ourselves, we say so.
Renters are burglarized at a much higher rate than owners
The BJS report Household Burglary, 1994–2011 found that, in every year it examined, households that rented were burglarized at a higher rate than households that owned their home. In 2011 the completed-burglary rate was 32.7 per 1,000 renting households versus 18.3 per 1,000 owning households (BJS, 2013). By our calculation, that's about 1.8 times the owner rate.
For a property manager, that's the core of the issue: your residents sit in the higher-risk group, and your doors are the first line between them and a break-in.
Most burglaries involve force
According to the FBI's Crime in the United States, 2019, 55.7% of burglaries involved forcible entry, 37.8% were unlawful entries (no force), and 6.5% were attempted forcible entry (FBI UCR, 2019). Put together, about 62% involved force or an attempt at it.
Two takeaways:
- Force is the most common way in. At an apartment entry door, that often means a kick that splits the jamb at the strike plate. The deadbolt stays locked, and the wood gives way.
- Unlocked doors are still a big share. The 37.8% of unlawful entries is why resident habits (lock the deadbolt and the slider, every time) belong in your security plan alongside hardware.
Homes are where most burglaries happen
The same FBI report found that burglaries of residential properties accounted for 62.8% of all burglary offenses in 2019, with an estimated 1,117,696 burglaries nationwide that year (FBI UCR, 2019).
The cost adds up, and few cases end in an arrest
- The FBI put the average dollar loss per burglary at $2,661 in 2019, and total property losses at about $3.0 billion (FBI UCR, 2019).
- BJS found that only 58% of completed household burglaries were reported to police in 2011, and about 10% of reported burglaries led to an arrest (BJS, 2013).
Those figures cover the resident's stolen property. They don't include your side of the ledger: the emergency work order, the damaged jamb, a resident who may not renew, and the reviews that follow. Run those with your own turnover and repair costs. Our door-first playbook for multifamily communities shows how.
What the numbers mean for your doors
If most burglaries involve force, and an arrest afterward is unlikely, prevention at the door is where your budget does the most good. Cameras and patrols record and deter. A reinforced door physically resists the kick.
Door Armor reinforces the two places a kicked door usually fails: the jamb at the strike plate and the door around the lock. Our MINI PLUS multifamily kit adds a Pry Shield for when a kick fails and someone reaches for a tool. It works in two ways for multifamily portfolios:
- Retrofits: your maintenance team installs it over existing doors and frames with a drill, no door replacement. It also covers and reinforces a jamb that's already been kicked in.
- New construction: spec it into the door package so every unit opens with reinforced doors.
Every single-door kit is backed by our lifetime kick-in guarantee: $500 on Door Armor MAX kits and $300 on Door Armor MINI and MINI PLUS kits, good for as long as the purchaser owns the property. It covers kick-ins (blunt force from a body part), not battering rams or prying tools. Double-door kits are not covered by the guarantee.
Need specs for a bid or a capital request? Our tear sheets are the spec sheets for each kit. Ask for them at [email protected]. For third-party test documentation, see our multifamily program page.
Frequently asked questions
Are apartments burglarized more than houses?
The federal data we cite tracks renters versus owners rather than apartments versus houses. BJS found renting households had a completed-burglary rate of 32.7 per 1,000 in 2011, compared with 18.3 per 1,000 for owners.
How do most burglars get in?
In the FBI's 2019 data, 55.7% of burglaries involved forcible entry and another 6.5% were attempted forcible entry. 37.8% were unlawful entries without force, such as through an unlocked door.
What is the average loss from a burglary?
The FBI reported an average loss of $2,661 per burglary offense in 2019. That doesn't include the property's repair and turnover costs.
What's the most cost-effective way to reduce kick-ins at a rental property?
Reinforce the entry doors. A steel jamb shield and door shields spread the force of a kick across the frame instead of a few inches of wood. Door Armor can be retrofitted by maintenance staff or specified on new construction.
Does the Door Armor guarantee cover every kit?
Single-door kits carry a lifetime kick-in guarantee: $500 on MAX kits and $300 on MINI and MINI PLUS kits. It covers kick-ins, not rams or prying. Double-door kits have no guarantee.
See it on your own door
Statistics make the case. A test on your own property closes it.
Get a free test sample: install Door Armor on one of your doors and see the difference. Ready to equip a property? Shop the MINI PLUS 12-pack · Ask us about bulk pricing at [email protected].