What is the safest city in North Carolina?

Based on 2024 FBI data, Whispering Pines is the safest city in North Carolina with a violent crime rate of 0.0 per 100,000 residents.

What is the most dangerous city in North Carolina?

Wadesboro has the highest violent crime rate in North Carolina at 2037.1 per 100,000 residents in 2024.

How many cities in North Carolina report crime data?

242 cities in North Carolina reported crime data to the FBI in 2024.

Safest Cities in North Carolina (2024)

Ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents from 2024 FBI data. North Carolina has 242 cities reporting crime data, with a statewide violent crime rate of 375.8 per 100K.

242

Cities Tracked

0.0

Safest City Rate

265.3

Median City Rate

2037.1

Highest Rate

Top 25 Safest Cities in North Carolina

#	City	Population	Violent Rate	Property Rate	Grade
1	Whispering Pines	5,431	0.0	257.8	A+
2	Youngsville	2,368	0.0	2195.9	A+
3	Pine Level	2,353	0.0	340.0	A+
4	Taylorsville	2,258	0.0	1195.7	A+
5	Drexel	1,761	0.0	56.8	A+
6	Biltmore Forest	1,448	0.0	621.5	A+
7	Pine Knoll Shores	1,440	0.0	625.0	A+
8	Foxfire Village	1,385	0.0	577.6	A+
9	Broadway	1,367	0.0	1389.9	A+
10	Robbins	1,257	0.0	0.0	A+
11	Banner Elk	1,155	0.0	173.2	A+
12	Highlands	1,122	0.0	1693.4	A+
13	Columbus	1,109	0.0	1532.9	A+
14	North Topsail Beach	1,090	0.0	1467.9	A+
15	Vass	1,025	0.0	1756.1	A+
16	Middlesex	945	0.0	1164.0	A+
17	Fair Bluff	721	0.0	970.9	A
18	Caswell Beach	397	0.0	0.0	A
19	Bunn	373	0.0	2144.8	A
20	Indian Beach	231	0.0	3463.2	A
21	Trent Woods	4,089	24.5	269.0	A
22	Southern Shores	3,150	31.7	1111.1	A
23	Rolesville	11,884	33.7	437.6	A
24	Davidson	14,332	41.9	446.6	B+
25	Madison	2,165	46.2	1986.1	B+

Most Dangerous Cities in North Carolina

#	City	Population	Violent Rate	Murder Rate	Grade
1	Wadesboro	4,909	2037.1	61.1	F
2	Laurinburg	14,994	1894.1	60.0	F
3	Plymouth	3,169	1861.8	126.2	F
4	Henderson	14,791	1791.6	27.0	F
5	Lumberton	19,087	1676.5	52.4	F
6	Farmville	4,576	1376.7	0.0	F
7	Williamston	4,994	1161.4	60.1	F
8	Goldsboro	33,444	1076.4	44.9	F
9	Selma	7,244	1049.1	0.0	F
10	Shelby	22,028	1044.1	22.7	F
11	Fairmont	2,208	1041.7	0.0	F
12	Roxboro	8,235	1007.9	12.1	F
13	Salisbury	36,564	960.0	30.1	F
14	Kinston	19,298	958.6	20.7	F
15	Statesville	30,245	955.5	3.3	F

All 242 Cities in North Carolina

Complete list ranked from safest to most dangerous.

Show all 242 cities

#	City	Pop.	Violent Rate	Grade
1	Whispering Pines	5,431	0.0	A+
2	Youngsville	2,368	0.0	A+
3	Pine Level	2,353	0.0	A+
4	Taylorsville	2,258	0.0	A+
5	Drexel	1,761	0.0	A+
6	Biltmore Forest	1,448	0.0	A+
7	Pine Knoll Shores	1,440	0.0	A+
8	Foxfire Village	1,385	0.0	A+
9	Broadway	1,367	0.0	A+
10	Robbins	1,257	0.0	A+
11	Banner Elk	1,155	0.0	A+
12	Highlands	1,122	0.0	A+
13	Columbus	1,109	0.0	A+
14	North Topsail Beach	1,090	0.0	A+
15	Vass	1,025	0.0	A+
16	Middlesex	945	0.0	A+
17	Fair Bluff	721	0.0	A
18	Caswell Beach	397	0.0	A
19	Bunn	373	0.0	A
20	Indian Beach	231	0.0	A
21	Trent Woods	4,089	24.5	A
22	Southern Shores	3,150	31.7	A
23	Rolesville	11,884	33.7	A
24	Davidson	14,332	41.9	B+
25	Madison	2,165	46.2	B+
26	Swansboro	4,273	46.8	B+
27	Stallings	17,564	51.2	B+
28	Apex	74,105	52.6	B+
29	Hudson	3,761	53.2	B+
30	Holly Ridge	5,523	54.3	B+
31	Black Mountain	8,564	58.4	B+
32	Waxhaw	23,893	58.6	B+
33	Pinehurst	18,716	58.8	B+
34	Weaverville	4,732	63.4	B+
35	Granite Quarry	3,057	65.4	B+
36	Fuquay-Varina	47,436	69.6	B+
37	Cary	181,793	71.0	B
38	Lake Lure	1,381	72.4	B
39	Fletcher	8,219	73.0	B
40	Weldon	1,365	73.3	B
41	West Jefferson	1,340	74.6	B
42	Elon	11,585	77.7	B
43	King	7,680	78.1	B
44	Holly Springs	48,199	80.9	B
45	Mayodan	2,464	81.2	B
46	Richlands	2,457	81.4	B
47	Winterville	10,926	82.4	B
48	Southport	4,494	89.0	B
49	Boone	20,024	89.9	B
50	Spruce Pine	2,189	91.4	B
51	Leland	33,162	96.5	B
52	Ocean Isle Beach	1,019	98.1	B
53	Morrisville	32,336	99.0	B
54	Mint Hill	28,259	99.1	B
55	Pittsboro	4,934	101.3	B
56	Cornelius	33,699	103.9	B
57	Holden Beach	945	105.8	B
58	Valdese	4,703	106.3	C+
59	Archdale	12,143	107.1	C+
60	Sunset Beach	4,660	107.3	C+
61	Mount Holly	18,581	107.6	C+
62	Cramerton	5,556	108.0	C+
63	Raeford	4,538	110.2	C+
64	Jefferson	1,638	122.1	C+
65	Stanley	4,074	122.7	C+
66	Tryon	1,620	123.5	C+
67	Lowell	3,839	130.2	C+
68	Wendell	16,281	135.1	C+
69	Huntersville	65,752	143.0	C+
70	Wake Forest	55,872	146.8	C+
71	Blowing Rock	1,347	148.5	C
72	Emerald Isle	4,007	149.7	C
73	Stoneville	1,335	149.8	C
74	China Grove	4,612	151.8	C
75	Angier	7,902	151.9	C
76	Four Oaks	2,624	152.4	C
77	Beech Mountain	656	152.4	C
78	Canton	4,417	158.5	C
79	Concord	111,922	159.0	C
80	Navassa	1,842	162.9	C
81	Kannapolis	60,725	168.0	C
82	Clayton	31,494	168.3	C
83	Ramseur	1,780	168.5	C
84	Mount Gilead	1,168	171.2	C
85	Jonesville	2,332	171.5	C
86	Chapel Hill	63,906	172.1	C
87	Troutman	4,057	172.5	C
88	Cherryville	6,342	173.4	C
89	Woodfin	8,031	174.3	C
90	Gibsonville	9,619	176.7	C
91	Carrboro	21,045	180.6	C
92	Matthews	31,422	184.6	C
93	Randleman	4,661	193.1	C
94	Knightdale	20,557	194.6	C
95	Burgaw	3,528	198.4	D+
96	Granite Falls	4,908	203.7	D+
97	Snow Hill	1,467	204.5	D+
98	Havelock	16,574	205.1	D+
99	Wrightsville Beach	2,405	207.9	D+
100	Biscoe	1,853	215.9	D+
101	Mooresville	54,823	217.1	D+
102	Coats	2,300	217.4	D+
103	Kill Devil Hills	7,817	217.5	D+
104	Cleveland	888	225.2	D+
105	Kernersville	28,522	227.9	D+
106	Maysville	848	235.8	D+
107	Maxton	2,116	236.3	D+
108	Warrenton	844	237.0	D+
109	Marion	7,435	242.1	D+
110	Kitty Hawk	3,714	242.3	D+
111	Aberdeen	9,795	245.0	D+
112	Butner	8,156	245.2	D+
113	Candor	813	246.0	D+
114	Franklin	4,377	251.3	D+
115	Ayden	5,126	253.6	D+
116	North Wilkesboro	4,323	254.5	D+
117	Nags Head	3,130	255.6	D+
118	Dallas	6,225	257.0	D+
119	Lenoir	18,201	258.2	D+
120	Kenansville	762	262.5	D+
121	Hendersonville	15,561	263.5	D+
122	Sugar Mountain	377	265.3	D+
123	Brevard	7,848	267.6	D+
124	Franklinton	2,806	285.1	D
125	Belhaven	1,399	285.9	D
126	Newport	4,536	286.6	D
127	Boiling Spring Lakes	6,903	289.7	D
128	Surf City	5,120	293.0	D
129	Rutherfordton	3,701	297.2	D
130	Yadkinville	3,025	297.5	D
131	Troy	2,985	301.5	D
132	Tabor City	3,636	302.5	D
133	Mount Olive	4,280	303.7	D
134	Beaufort	4,920	304.9	D
135	Mebane	20,920	305.9	D
136	Saluda	646	309.6	D
137	Mount Airy	10,590	311.6	D
138	Creedmoor	5,066	315.8	D
139	Ranlo	4,713	318.3	D
140	Shallotte	5,548	324.4	D
141	Zebulon	10,356	328.3	D
142	Warsaw	2,738	328.7	D
143	Thomasville	27,525	330.6	D
144	Carolina Beach	6,917	332.5	D
145	Boonville	1,194	335.0	D
146	Rowland	890	337.1	D
147	Elizabeth City	19,064	341.0	D
148	Graham	18,772	346.3	D
149	Wilkesboro	3,652	356.0	D
150	Garner	36,720	356.8	D
151	Louisburg	3,340	359.3	D
152	Lincolnton	12,478	360.6	D
153	Morehead City	9,960	361.4	D
154	New Bern	32,548	362.5	D
155	Star	824	364.1	D
156	Southern Pines	17,092	368.6	D
157	Hillsborough	9,788	378.0	F
158	Edenton	4,495	378.2	F
159	Belmont	15,672	382.8	F
160	Northwest	1,037	385.7	F
161	Chadbourn	1,538	390.1	F
162	Duck	751	399.5	F
163	Newton	13,479	400.6	F
164	Wallace	3,492	400.9	F
165	Hickory	44,682	407.3	F
166	Eden	15,307	411.6	F
167	Newland	721	416.1	F
168	Hope Mills	17,838	420.5	F
169	Asheboro	27,619	423.6	F
170	Erwin	4,812	436.4	F
171	Lexington	19,899	437.2	F
172	East Spencer	1,600	437.5	F
173	Windsor	3,153	444.0	F
174	Greenville	90,871	453.4	F
175	High Point	117,629	454.8	F
176	Maggie Valley	1,751	456.9	F
177	Bessemer City	5,685	457.3	F
178	Siler City	8,142	479.0	F
179	Wilmington	125,101	482.8	F
180	Raleigh	488,085	488.8	F
181	Smithfield	12,852	490.2	F
182	Waynesville	10,813	499.4	F
183	Haw River	2,381	504.0	F
184	Sharpsburg	1,755	512.8	F
185	Sylva	2,697	519.1	F
186	Washington	9,616	520.0	F
187	Beulaville	1,145	524.0	F
188	Forest City	7,391	527.7	F
189	Stantonsburg	757	528.4	F
190	Chocowinity	747	535.5	F
191	Whiteville	4,654	537.2	F
192	Elkin	4,076	539.7	F
193	Spring Lake	11,459	541.1	F
194	Lillington	4,387	547.1	F
195	Murfreesboro	2,327	558.7	F
196	Clinton	8,300	566.3	F
197	Albemarle	16,926	573.1	F
198	Wilson	47,825	579.2	F
199	Reidsville	14,584	596.5	F
200	Bryson City	1,495	602.0	F
201	Rockingham	8,786	614.6	F
202	Durham	300,208	619.2	F
203	St. Pauls	2,045	635.7	F
204	Kings Mountain	12,045	647.6	F
205	Monroe	38,903	652.9	F
206	Fayetteville	209,945	660.2	F
207	Marshville	2,701	666.4	F
208	Tarboro	10,920	668.5	F
209	Ahoskie	4,580	698.7	F
210	Pineville	11,330	723.7	F
211	Charlotte-Mecklenburg	1,003,130	733.2	F
212	Benson	4,542	748.6	F
213	Wilson's Mills	2,915	754.7	F
214	Rocky Mount	54,223	765.4	F
215	Elizabethtown	3,244	770.7	F
216	Atlantic Beach	1,418	775.7	F
217	Asheville	95,219	796.1	F
218	Winston-Salem	254,041	809.7	F
219	Oxford	9,032	841.5	F
220	Gastonia	85,112	849.5	F
221	Red Springs	3,161	885.8	F
222	Roanoke Rapids	14,497	896.7	F
223	Dunn	8,633	903.5	F
224	Murphy	1,654	906.9	F
225	Pembroke	2,836	916.8	F
226	Greensboro	304,306	923.7	F
227	Burlington	60,906	952.3	F
228	Statesville	30,245	955.5	F
229	Kinston	19,298	958.6	F
230	Salisbury	36,564	960.0	F
231	Roxboro	8,235	1007.9	F
232	Fairmont	2,208	1041.7	F
233	Shelby	22,028	1044.1	F
234	Selma	7,244	1049.1	F
235	Goldsboro	33,444	1076.4	F
236	Williamston	4,994	1161.4	F
237	Farmville	4,576	1376.7	F
238	Lumberton	19,087	1676.5	F
239	Henderson	14,791	1791.6	F
240	Plymouth	3,169	1861.8	F
241	Laurinburg	14,994	1894.1	F
242	Wadesboro	4,909	2037.1	F

About This Data

Crime rates are from the FBI's 2024 Uniform Crime Report, the most recent data available. Rates are per 100,000 residents. Safety grades are based on national percentile ranking — an "A" means the city is safer than 80%+ of all US cities in our database.

Not all cities report to the FBI. Small agencies may have incomplete data. Always consider multiple years of data before drawing conclusions about a city's safety.

→ North Carolina Crime Overview → Safest Cities in America → National Rankings → Safety Score Calculator

National demographic context: Crime and safety vary across racial and ethnic groups. Per-city demographic data is not published by the FBI, but national patterns show significant disparities. Full demographics | Racial disparities

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