Safest Cities in North Carolina

This study was conducted by dividing cities in North Carolina into three buckets based on population size. Cities with over 50,000 residents were considered large cities, while cities with between 10,000 and 50,000 residents were considered midsize cities. Cities with under 10,000 residents were considered small cities. In total, there were 248 North Carolina cities included in our analysis, with 174 small cities, 57 midsize cities, and 17 large cities.

Continue reading to discover the safest large, midsize, and small cities in North Carolina:

• Safest Large Cities in North Carolina
• Safest Midsize Cities in North Carolina
• Safest Small Cities in North Carolina

Safest Large Cities in North Carolina

There were 17 large cities in North Carolina in our study with populations over 50,000. The average crime score in large North Carolina cities was 74, and the crime scores ranged from 18 up to 128.

Cary was the safest city in the state and is located in The Triangle region of the state to the west of Raleigh. Cary has a population of approximately 170,000 residents and is a rapidly growing city in the state. Cary is home to numerous companies, including SAS Institute and other technology companies.

Winston-Salem, located near the center of the state, had the highest crime score among large cities in the state. The city is a result of the merger of the towns of Winston and Salem in 1913. The city is host to the headquarters of HanesBrands, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Reynolds American. Wake Forest University is also located in the city.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Cary	4.4	9.9	18.4
2	Apex	6.2	12.6	23.9
3	Concord	3.7	17.9	27.3
4	Huntersville	7.8	15.3	31.6
5	Chapel Hill	7.0	14.8	37.9
6	Jacksonville	20.2	24.6	63.2
7	Greenville	20.6	29.0	76.0
8	High Point	13.2	34.4	81.5
9	Wilmington	19.3	30.1	83.2
10	Greensboro	20.5	33.5	87.4
11	Durham	15.0	35.6	88.2
12	Fayetteville	21.3	31.8	91.9
13	Charlotte-Mecklenburg	21.2	37.5	94.8
14	Burlington	26.4	35.6	106.6
15	Gastonia	22.4	49.7	110.1
16	Asheville	26.3	51.5	112.5
17	Winston-Salem	39.0	43.2	127.7

Safest Midsize Cities in North Carolina

The safest midsize city in North Carolina was Cornelius. This city is located north of the Charlotte metropolitan area on the east shore of Lake Norman. Cornelius boasts 10 public parks, retail and office buildings, and a championship golf course.

Among midsize cities with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 residents in North Carolina, the average crime score was 67, with the range being between 3 and 197. We included a total of 57 midsize cities in our report.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Cornelius	0.1	0.2	3.1
2	Elon	0.2	0.7	5.2
3	Holly Springs	3.2	7.2	14.4
4	Pinehurst	3.8	6.8	15.8
5	Stallings	3.3	11.2	20.0
6	Fuquay-Varina	2.7	6.9	21.2
7	Morrisville	4.1	12.2	21.7
8	Davidson	6.7	10.1	22.3
9	Waxhaw	5.8	11.1	22.5
10	Wake Forest	7.2	15.2	28.3
11	Boone	6.6	14.8	28.7
12	Leland	8.0	15.2	31.1
13	Clayton	5.9	18.7	31.5
14	Mount Holly	7.9	18.9	35.4
15	Mint Hill	8.1	17.2	37.3
16	Carrboro	12.8	18.6	39.7
17	Archdale	6.7	21.0	40.9
18	Knightdale	11.6	17.4	44.3
19	Sanford	5.7	26.5	44.4
20	Southern Pines	10.4	21.9	46.8
21	Kannapolis	8.0	24.6	49.7
22	Tarboro	3.4	29.5	50.4
23	Matthews	11.0	28.9	50.6
24	Havelock	19.3	26.7	52.9
25	Garner	8.9	31.4	53.6
26	Mebane	7.5	21.0	54.0
27	Mooresville	17.1	26.6	54.9
28	Shelby	3.5	10.8	62.3
29	Goldsboro	9.1	20.4	63.1
30	Thomasville	10.1	38.3	66.6
31	Lincolnton	20.6	24.8	66.7
32	Smithfield	13.3	36.3	69.9
33	New Bern	18.2	31.8	70.3
34	Lexington	14.7	26.1	73.0
35	Kernersville	18.4	39.6	73.3
36	Belmont	14.4	44.6	76.3
37	Wilson	15.4	34.8	76.5
38	Lenoir	17.0	47.2	78.9
39	Hendersonville	10.4	44.1	79.1
40	Newton	20.1	34.5	80.5
41	Eden	21.9	35.4	82.5
42	Hickory	13.9	46.4	83.8
43	Asheboro	22.5	45.1	93.0
44	Morganton	17.5	32.3	93.5
45	Lumberton	17.1	49.1	98.5
46	Hope Mills	22.0	42.0	98.8
47	Salisbury	14.6	46.6	99.6
48	Roanoke Rapids	14.5	55.7	101.1
49	Monroe	14.7	31.5	102.1
50	Elizabeth City	21.0	53.4	104.7
51	Albemarle	20.0	53.3	115.6
52	Rocky Mount	20.1	41.2	119.2
53	Reidsville	33.2	50.3	125.7
54	Statesville	29.8	55.1	129.8
55	Laurinburg	18.2	51.8	150.7
56	Kinston	44.5	64.2	167.9
57	Henderson	44.5	54.4	196.5

Safest Small Cities in North Carolina

In the following table, we list the safest small cities in North Carolina, along with each city’s crime score and the number of property and violent crimes in each city per 1,000 residents. Small cities are those with under 10,000 residents, and we studied 174 small cities in the state.

The average crime score in these cities was 72, with a range from 8 up to 371. The safest small city in North Carolina was Trent Woods, a town of about 4,000 residents located on the north bank of Trent River and a part of the New Bern metropolitan area. The town is a bedroom community that is largely suburban in character.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Trent Woods	2.0	4.4	7.7
2	Whispering Pines	2.7	5.1	8.5
3	Lake Lure	0.0	4.4	13.1
4	Jefferson	0.0	3.3	13.2
5	Biltmore Forest	2.1	11.9	14.0
6	Pine Level	0.5	2.0	15.3
7	Rose Hill	0.0	7.9	15.9
8	Dobson	0.0	11.0	16.4
9	Grifton	0.8	6.8	16.5
10	Burnsville	0.0	5.5	16.6
11	Rolesville	4.5	8.3	16.7
12	Laurel Park	5.1	4.3	17.3
13	Richlands	5.2	12.2	17.5
14	Pinetops	0.0	3.2	19.1
15	Southern Shores	0.7	4.1	19.3
16	Tryon	0.0	8.1	19.4
17	Banner Elk	0.0	3.5	20.9
18	Cape Carteret	4.3	15.5	21.6
19	Newport	4.9	10.7	21.7
20	Spruce Pine	0.5	8.5	22.5
21	Fletcher	3.5	15.3	22.8
22	Sunset Beach	1.5	12.2	25.7
23	Black Mountain	5.2	13.2	26.0
24	Mars Hill	2.8	6.5	26.7
25	Fair Bluff	0.0	6.7	27.0
26	Drexel	4.8	17.8	27.4
27	Spring Hope	0.8	3.8	27.6
28	Pinebluff	5.9	12.5	27.7
29	Kenansville	4.8	16.7	28.7
30	Rockwell	5.1	12.6	29.5
31	China Grove	5.0	19.0	29.9
32	Winterville	8.6	9.3	30.4
33	Wendell	4.9	13.4	30.6
34	Holly Ridge	4.6	13.9	30.8
35	Blowing Rock	5.0	17.3	31.7
36	Belhaven	5.1	2.6	32.6
37	Bessemer City	1.5	10.9	33.1
38	Creedmoor	6.3	20.3	33.2
39	Boiling Spring Lakes	7.2	8.5	34.3
40	Valdese	8.8	12.2	35.2
41	Cramerton	7.0	15.4	35.4
42	Pine Knoll Shores	7.5	15.8	36.1
43	Murfreesboro	6.7	20.4	36.9
44	Woodfin	8.3	17.7	37.9
45	Randleman	2.7	34.1	38.0
46	Wingate	9.7	16.9	38.2
47	Stoneville	3.2	3.2	38.6
48	Windsor	10.4	10.4	39.0
49	Hudson	3.5	15.7	40.0
50	Bunn	5.4	8.1	40.7
51	Rutherfordton	0.7	39.4	41.4
52	Weaverville	3.5	35.7	41.8
53	Topsail Beach	7.0	0.0	42.1
54	Troutman	14.7	21.4	43.4
55	Youngsville	8.3	21.0	44.2
56	Manteo	2.1	21.4	46.1
57	Brevard	8.0	19.1	46.1
58	Star	11.7	21.1	47.2
59	Enfield	6.0	16.4	47.5
60	Angier	4.2	13.6	48.7
61	Columbus	11.1	38.3	49.4
62	St. Pauls	4.7	29.0	50.8
63	Stanley	7.2	33.0	51.0
64	Robbins	6.6	21.5	52.0
65	Cleveland	8.0	28.5	52.3
66	Kitty Hawk	8.8	35.4	52.4
67	Cherryville	5.5	15.8	53.9
68	Carolina Beach	13.1	22.7	54.2
69	Maysville	7.4	13.7	56.1
70	Bailey	10.7	23.1	56.9
71	Aberdeen	15.1	29.7	57.2
72	Gibsonville	18.6	19.2	57.7
73	Conover	13.0	35.6	58.2
74	Erwin	6.0	17.2	58.7
75	Beaufort	12.0	32.3	59.4
76	Hertford	9.9	16.0	59.4
77	Troy	12.2	24.7	59.5
78	Mount Olive	6.7	29.8	60.4
79	Mocksville	14.9	31.1	60.9
80	Sugar Mountain	0.0	10.2	60.9
81	Pilot Mountain	6.3	29.4	61.7
82	Butner	17.6	22.7	62.9
83	Oak Island	17.4	21.2	63.3
84	Madison	24.5	26.9	65.1
85	Pittsboro	16.1	26.6	65.3
86	North Wilkesboro	14.3	29.2	65.5
87	Burgaw	15.7	37.4	66.1
88	Newland	1.5	13.2	66.8
89	Lillington	13.7	35.7	67.1
90	Spencer	12.3	30.4	67.3
91	Scotland Neck	8.5	22.3	67.3
92	Chocowinity	11.4	20.2	67.3
93	Canton	5.4	11.4	67.9
94	Shallotte	7.4	54.7	68.1
95	Ayden	20.9	28.9	68.8
96	Four Oaks	13.8	26.6	68.9
97	Kings Mountain	9.8	41.3	70.2
98	Mayodan	13.3	47.1	70.5
99	Dallas	4.4	16.9	72.3
100	Fairmont	9.2	26.1	72.7
101	Raeford	13.9	30.1	72.7
102	Yadkinville	19.5	31.3	72.9
103	Swansboro	14.0	38.6	73.8
104	West Jefferson	1.6	23.3	74.6
105	Elkin	10.8	56.2	75.7
106	Granite Falls	6.7	63.0	76.1
107	Warsaw	15.5	35.1	76.2
108	Carthage	24.9	32.2	77.2
109	Franklin	7.7	44.2	79.2
110	King	18.4	48.4	79.5
111	Snow Hill	11.9	35.0	79.8
112	Rowland	13.9	46.5	80.2
113	Ramseur	12.4	46.2	81.7
114	Haw River	4.8	15.2	81.7
115	Morehead City	19.6	42.2	83.0
116	Farmville	22.1	27.4	84.3
117	White Lake	10.5	40.7	86.6
118	East Spencer	8.4	11.0	87.7
119	Hillsborough	23.4	42.3	87.9
120	Mount Gilead	14.7	52.6	88.0
121	Selma	13.9	35.3	88.1
122	Coats	7.2	7.6	88.9
123	Maxton	5.0	41.5	90.3
124	Kill Devil Hills	25.9	48.8	90.8
125	Dunn	2.3	10.5	91.9
126	Taylorsville	6.8	15.5	92.0
127	Clinton	6.9	20.5	92.1
128	Nags Head	22.2	47.2	93.7
129	Emerald Isle	15.5	51.3	94.4
130	Louisburg	18.0	38.6	94.7
131	Marshville	29.0	42.9	95.3
132	Marion	20.2	58.6	96.0
133	Tabor City	9.0	21.5	96.0
134	Highlands	23.5	57.6	97.0
135	Waynesville	15.0	51.7	98.3
136	Claremont	5.0	10.0	98.3
137	Wrightsville Beach	23.5	39.1	100.1
138	Zebulon	23.0	45.4	101.7
139	Weldon	8.6	27.8	102.2
140	Wilkesboro	17.8	73.2	102.5
141	North Topsail Beach	12.4	48.4	102.9
142	Warrenton	3.6	25.1	103.8
143	Chadbourn	21.4	36.4	106.4
144	Roxboro	20.5	38.4	109.4
145	Edenton	19.5	31.0	110.0
146	Ocean Isle Beach	4.8	72.1	110.1
147	Surf City	26.2	72.0	112.0
148	Sylva	19.7	71.0	112.6
149	Long View	9.6	32.6	112.8
150	Duck	18.1	82.7	113.7
151	Beech Mountain	16.5	42.9	113.9
152	Washington	27.8	40.3	115.4
153	Oxford	31.2	46.7	116.6
154	Forest City	14.8	77.4	117.2
155	Biscoe	1.2	116.4	117.6
156	Rockingham	18.4	68.8	118.2
157	Siler City	26.6	44.9	119.1
158	Ahoskie	14.8	50.5	119.7
159	Maggie Valley	16.6	50.5	120.2
160	Bald Head Island	0.0	50.3	120.7
161	Benson	46.9	40.6	121.7
162	Andrews	11.0	35.6	123.7
163	Jonesville	29.2	55.3	124.9
164	Beulaville	4.6	9.9	132.1
165	Robersonville	19.1	39.0	134.9
166	Atlantic Beach	31.5	61.6	138.6
167	Plymouth	43.5	42.3	143.3
168	Murphy	20.1	106.7	159.8
169	Williamston	39.9	63.3	162.7
170	Whiteville	28.9	87.2	172.0
171	Pineville	28.1	125.2	199.7
172	Wadesboro	54.2	45.1	202.8
173	Indian Beach	17.1	222.2	287.2
174	Seven Devils	5.6	5.6	370.8

Methodology

AdvisorSmith used data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Data Set, as reported on Return A. This data set collects data from cities and law enforcement agencies around the country on violent and property crimes, including rape, murder, assault, robbery, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and burglary. We studied the crime data from 248 cities in the state of North Carolina to determine the safest cities in the state.

Our analysis divided cities within the state into 3 groups based upon each city’s population. Cities with less than 10,000 residents were considered small cities, while cities with between 10,000 and 50,000 residents were considered midsize cities. Large cities were those with populations of 50,000 or higher.

This study excluded cities that reported less than two months of crime data to the FBI to avoid outlier results from skewing the data. Additionally, for cities in which less than 12 months of crime data was reported, the crime levels were scaled up proportionally to reflect a full year’s worth of crime.

We calculated a crime score for each city by applying a multiplier to more serious crimes such as rape, robbery, murder, and assault. We then added the multiple-weighted crimes together and adjusted the score to reflect the population in each city in order to determine a crime score for each city. We then ranked each city within its population cohort to determine the safest small, midsize, and large cities in the state of North Carolina.

Sources

1. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A, 2018