Every state and the federal criminal code has identified crimes that are less serious than felonies—these are called misdemeanors. Typically, they can result in a sentence of a year or less in the county jail, as opposed to state prison. In many states, misdemeanors are further broken down into classes, corresponding to the seriousness of the crime. For example, shoplifting might be a class B misdemeanor in a particular state, carrying a possible sentence of up to six months in jail and a fine of $2,000. The purpose of grouping misdemeanors is to make it easy to learn the sentence for any given crime—in each statute defining an offense, the lawmakers also gave the crime a class designation.
Other states use “levels” instead of “classes.” And yet others use unique descriptive words or phrases, such as “misdemeanor” and “gross misdemeanor.” The result is the same—for any given crime, once you know the class or level, you refer to the statute defining each class to learn the sentence.
Some states, however, do not classify their misdemeanor crimes. Instead, for each offense, the punishment is written right into the statute that defines the crime. These states assign penalties on a crime-by-crime basis.
The following states have classified their misdemeanors into classes, levels, or some other ranking system: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missoouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, new York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
For details on each state’s misdemeanor ranking system, and examples of crimes that are class B/level 2 misdemeanors, consult the state-specific articles below:
|
State |
Classification System |
| Alabama | A, B, or C |
| Alaska | A, B, or C |
| Arizona | 1, 2 or 3 |
| Arkansas | A, B, or C |
| California | By crime; if no punishment specified, up to 6 months, $1,000, or both |
| Colorado | 1, 2, 3 or unclassified (by crime) |
| Connecticut | A, B, C, or D; or unclassified (by crime) |
| Delaware | A or B or unclassified |
| D.C. | By crime |
| Florida | First or second degree |
| Georgia | "Misdemeanors" and "misdemeanors of a high and aggravated nature" |
| Hawaii | Petty misdemeanor and misdemeanor |
| Idaho | By crime |
| Illinois | A, B, or C |
| Indiana | A, B, or C |
| Iowa | Aggravated, serious, or simple |
| Kansas | A, B, C or unclassified (same as C) |
| Kentucky | A or B |
| Louisiana | By crime |
| Maine | D or E |
| Maryland | By crime |
| Massachusetts | By crime |
| Michigan | By term: offenses punishable by incarceration of up to 93 days, or up to one year; and high court misdemeanors |
| Minnesota | Gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or petty misdemeanor |
| Mississippi | By crime |
| Missouri | A, B, or C |
| Montana | By crime |
| Nebraska | I, II, III, IIIA, IV, or V |
| Nevada | Gross misdemeanors or misdemeanors |
| New Hampshire | A or B |
| New Jersey | Disorderly person offense or petty disorderly person offense |
| New Mexico | Petty misdemeanor or misdemeanor |
| New York | A, B, or unclassified (by crime) |
| North Carolina | A1, 1, 2, or 3 |
| North Dakota | A or B |
| Ohio | First, second, third, fourth, or minor |
| Oklahoma | By crime |
| Oregon | A, B, C, or unclassified (by crime) |
| Pennsylvania | First, second, or third degree |
| Rhode Island | Misdemeanor (by crime) or petty misdemeanor (by crime) |
| South Carolina | A, B, or C |
| South Dakota | 1 or 2 |
| Tennessee | A, B, or C |
| Texas | A, B, or C |
| Utah | A, B, or C |
| Vermont | By crime |
| Virginia | 1, 2, 3, or 4, or by crime |
| Washington | Gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor |
| West Virginia | By crime |
| Wisconsin | A, B, or C |
| Wyoming | By crime |