I'm not sure how helpful nationwide averaged data is for most of us. I'm glad it's down, obviously.
But the fact is, we are all segregated to a large degree. If crime is super high in inner-city neighborhoods and you never go there, most don't notice it or care. Conversely, if you're a suburbanite and crime goes down in the inner city, but you see more car jackings, that affects you (even if you aren't car jacked). In rural areas, I would think it concerning when meth rates are up, but the national average down.
Of course, a lot of this, as you note, is perception. 20 years ago crime rates might have been higher, but we didn't have access to Twitter videos showing a dangerous event that occurred very near us. Not sure if that's a good or bad development.