North Carolina’s Safest Cities of 2026

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In our latest State of Safety survey, residents of North Carolina reported fewer first-hand experiences with all types of crime except for property crime. In keeping with this downward trend, North Carolinians are less concerned about crime and more likely to say they feel safe calling The Tar Heel State home.

Although our survey results and official FBI crime data show property crime is on the rise in North Carolina, several of the state's safest cities are celebrating declining property crime rates for the fourth year in a row. 

The violent crime rate in North Carolina is 5.49 incidents per 1,000 people, which is higher than the national average of 4.43. We weren't able to report a statewide violent crime rate last year due to insufficient data, but in our 2024 report, North Carolina reported a lower violent crime rate of 4.7.

Property crime in The Tar Heel State also increased in recent years, rising from 21.6 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 29.87 incidents in this year's report. That's higher than the national property crime rate of 22.89 and the tenth highest rate in the nation.

North Carolinians who took our State of Safety survey report a higher confidence level than the year before. About 51% say they feel safe in the state, up from 40% the last two years.

North Carolinians were less likely to have experienced package theft in the 2026 reporting year compared to the previous year, but property crime in general increased. Meanwhile, residents feel less concerned about these types of crimes than the previous year.

• 20% of North Carolinians said they personally experienced a property crime in the 12 months prior to our survey, up from 17% the year before (US 21%).
• The percentage of North Carolinians who worry about property crime on a daily basis dropped substantially from 63% to 47% (US 46%).
• 26% said they experienced package theft in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 35% the year before (US 31%).
• 46% told us they worry about package theft on a daily basis, down from 53% (US 52%).
• North Carolina residents prefer to protect their property with security cameras (51%), security systems (33%), and firearms (32%).

For the second year in a row, North Carolinians reported fewer first-hand experiences with violent crime. Concern about violent crime has returned to average levels. 

• 9% of North Carolinians reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 13% the previous year (US 12%).
• The percentage of North Carolina residents who say they worry about violent crime on a daily basis fell from 70% to 55% year over year (US 55%).
• In our 2025 report, North Carolinians were among those most concerned about violent crime in the nation. This year, their concern matches the national average. 
• 35% of residents in North Carolina report using some form of personal protection.
• North Carolina residents prefer to protect themselves with pepper spray (60%), pocket knives (54%), and firearms (51%).

• 8% of survey respondents reported experiencing gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey, down from 10% the year before (US 9%).
• Concern about gun violence fell from 65% to 57% year over year (US 55%).
• There were 13 mass shootings in North Carolina in 2025—down from 15 the year before.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 103 cities met the criteria for ranking this year.
• Although its property crime and violent crime rates increased year over year, Rolesville still managed to have rates low enough to earn it the title of North Carolina's safest city in 2026.
• Every safest city reported 1.0 or fewer violent crimes per 1,000 residents.
• 3 of North Carolina's safest cities have seen declines in property crime each year for at least the last four years, which is extremely rare among all of America's safest cities: Pinehurst, Waxhaw, and Fuquay-Varina
• Elon and Boone saw property crime decrease each year for the last two years.
• Winterville cut its violent crime rate by 50% year over year. 
• No murders were reported in North Carolina's safest cities.
• Rolesville reported zero aggravated assaults.
• Davidson and Fuquay-Varina reported no rapes.
• Pinehurst, Elon, and Stallings reported zero robberies.

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