There’s a lot that the general public misunderstands about felony charges. Even people who know the official definition of a felony might be surprised at some of the underlying causes, statistics and generational trends of the people who commit them. If you’d like to learn more about felonies, here are just five things that you might not have known.

1. Texas has the most felony convictions.

The Lone Star State has the most felons on record. Before you assume that Texans are naturally prone to criminal activity, however, you should know that Texas is also one of the most densely-populated states in the entire country. It beats out Florida, New York and Illinois! Only California has more residents, and their felony rate is pretty high, too.

2. Wisconsin has the second-highest amount of felony convictions.

This fact is truly surprising because Wisconsin isn’t anywhere near the top of the list in terms of population density. In fact, Wisconsin is all the way down in the 20th spot! Experts suggest that its high amount of felony convictions comes from the transitory nature of the state: Lots of people move in and out, so criminal activity is higher than usual.

3. Felonies are most common among a specific age group.

While people of any age can commit felony-level criminal activity, the majority of felony convictions happen within the 18-30 demographic. Is it because they’re young adults? Is it because of where they’re located or how they’re being prosecuted? You can learn more about the breakdown of ages and generations with these felony statistics from Intelius.

4. Specific jobs are more likely to have felony offenders.

Studies have shown that people who have the word “owner” in their job description have more felony convictions than average. People who describe themselves as “managers” and “presidents” are similarly affected. This seems to suggest that having and maintaining power is a possible cause of people being willing to bend the law.

5. Felony rates slowly decline along with age.

When looking at averages, felony rates spike around the ages of 18-21 and slowly decline from there. What’s more, they decline at a steady rate. For every year gained, the felony average drops off a little more. While four percent of 18-year-olds have felony convictions on their records, only three percent of 30-year-olds do, and only two percent of 40-year-olds do. By the time that people reach 60 and 70 years old, their felony average is less than one percent!

These are just a few things that you might not have known about felonies. While it will take more research to truly understand these charges and their causes, learning the basics is an important first step. Good for you!


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