Durham is the fourth-largest city in North Carolina, with 321,300 residents in Durham County, about 9 miles northeast of downtown Chapel Hill · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Durham?
Property crime is high in Durham: a B-, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 74% of Americans live. Theft makes up 60% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, and vehicle theft grades B-.
B-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 593 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
26% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Durham as a whole, and 74% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Durham scores 593.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Durham, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Durham, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Durham
One part of Durham stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Downtown Durham, Forest Hills & Old North Durham, in central Durham, run at more than triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Durham, 61% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
Thefts and burglaries both run high. In Durham, each runs at about double the US rate: 25.7 thefts and 4.5 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 2.4 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Durham
Property crime changes a lot from one part of Durham to the next: 54% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 23% live in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Durham run from A+ to F.
54%23%23%
A or B 54%C 23%D or F 23%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Research Triangle Park, Northwest Raleigh & Triangle Development, southeastCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Durham.A-803
2Woodcroft, Sayward Drive & Hope Valley, southwestCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Durham.B+734
3Old West Durham, northwestBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Durham.B666
4Northeast Durham, northeastCar thefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Durham.B648
5North Garrett Road & Tuscaloosa-Lakewood, westThefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Durham.B646
6Hillside Park, southClose to the rest of Durham on most crimes.B-598
7Northgate Park, Trinity Park & Walltown, northCar thefts run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Durham.C418
8East Durham, Wellons Village & Y.E. Smith, eastThefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Durham.C-367
9Downtown Durham, Forest Hills & Old North Durham, centralBurglaries run at more than double the rate in the rest of Durham.F60
Neighborhood areas of Durham, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is property crime going up in Durham?
Reported property crime in Durham has held about steady since 2019, within 1%. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 38 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
DurhamUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Durham. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Durham
Property, US
2016
-3%
+15%
2017
+0%
+12%
2018
-7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-0%
-8%
2021
-11%
-10%
2022
-14%
-6%
2023
-1%
-7%
2024
-1%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Durham
CrimeGrade™ estimates Durham has about 43 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 81% more than the US as a whole and 65% more than North Carolina.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Durham, about 60% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Durham
Durham has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Durham, 62% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 72% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (62%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (72%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (61%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (61%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Durham and nearby cities
Durham has the most property crime of its 6 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Durham apart: it has 70 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 9 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with both tend to report more theft than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.70 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Durham: D (17 of 100).9 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 81% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 51% of US city residents
Show all 6
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.88% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 63% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.6.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 58% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 57% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Durham on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Durham
Property crime costs Durham about $101 million a year, or $315 per resident and about $787 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$13 million
$41
Theft
$42 million
$132
Vehicle theft
$29 million
$91
Arson
$890,000
$3
Vandalism
$16 million
$49
Total
$101 million
$315
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
