Michael Brown was shot by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, on 9 August, sparking protests.
A police chief said violence in the suburb of St Louis, Missouri, was "probably much worse" than all previous unrest over the black teenager's death.
St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said rioters had fired 150 shots.
Many in the African-American community had called for Mr Wilson to be charged with murder, but following lengthy deliberations a grand jury - of nine white and three black members - made no recommendation of charges.
President Barack Obama joined the teenager's family on Monday in appealing for calm, urging Americans to accept the decision was "the grand jury's to make''.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool reported seeing more vandalism and looting after Monday's ruling than on any night in August.
Some demonstrators celebrated as businesses burned in Ferguson
Pepper spray was fired by police
Hours after the initial violence began, a large blaze at one business in Ferguson continued to burn as firefighters battled to bring it under control.
Police had made 29 arrests, Mr Belmar said, and there were reports of shops being looted.
The fabric of the community, he said, had been "torn apart" in Ferguson, which is a predominantly black community patrolled by a mainly white police force.
"I didn't see a lot of peaceful protest out there tonight, and I'm disappointed about that," Mr Belmar said. "Unfortunately this spun out of control."
"I don't think we were underprepared," he added. "But I'll be honest with you, unless we bring 10,000 policemen in here, I don't think we can prevent folks who really are intent on destroying a community."
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon called up the National Guard ahead of the jury's decision as a precaution but it appears they were not deployed against the rioters.
As protesters charged barricades, hurling glass bottles, police responded with smoke and tear gas.
One protester, Charles Miller, told the BBC that while he did not advocate violence, he understood why people were angry.
"You can't just go shoot an 18-year-old who's unarmed on the street, despite what the story may have been," he said.
"He was unarmed and you are an armed law enforcement officer who's been trained in combat. So I think people are rightfully upset."
After the situation calmed down, he added, he hoped there would be an "opportunity to really grow and change a lot of things, and make sure [Michael Brown's] death didn't mean nothing".
Thousands of people also protested in other US cities, from Los Angeles to New York.
BBC News
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