Safest Cities in North Carolina 2026
North Carolina has 8 cities in our database with a statewide violent crime rate of 533.3 per 100,000 residents. The safest city is Wilmington with a Safety Context Score of 81/100. All rates are per capita — never raw counts.
| # | City | Population | Violent/100K | Property/100K | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilmington | 115K | 183.2 | 1,253 | A (81) |
| 2 | Fayetteville | 209K | 225.4 | 1,462 | B (76) |
| 3 | Cary | 175K | 219.5 | 2,071 | B (70) |
| 4 | Charlotte | 875K | 548.1 | 2,191 | C (62) |
| 5 | Durham | 284K | 403 | 2,443 | C (59) |
| 6 | Winston-Salem | 250K | 701 | 1,905 | C (50) |
| 7 | Raleigh | 468K | 718.1 | 1,578 | D (49) |
| 8 | Greensboro | 299K | 718.1 | 1,578 | D (49) |
All rates per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI UCR 2023.
Crime statistics for North Carolina cities are derived from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data. All figures represent per-capita rates per 100,000 residents, not raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on FBI crime data and our Safety Context Score, Wilmington is the safest city in North Carolina with a score of 81/100 (Grade A), a violent crime rate of 183.2 per 100,000, and a property crime rate of 1,253 per 100,000.
Cities are ranked using our Safety Context Score (0-100), which weighs violent crime rate vs. national average (40%), property crime rate vs. national average (30%), and 5-year trend direction (30%). All rates are per 100,000 residents — never raw counts.
Crime in North Carolina has increased 0.0% over the past 5 years based on FBI data.
Safety Context Score: violent crime vs. national average (40%), property crime vs. national average (30%), 5-year trend (30%). All rates per 100,000 residents.