Sanford is a city of 72,000 in Lee County, about 35 miles south of downtown Chapel Hill · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Sanford?
Sanford earns an A- for property crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 53% of Americans live. Theft makes up 52% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A, and vehicle theft grades A+.
A-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 838 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
53% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Sanford as a whole, and 47% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Sanford scores 838.
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 Sanford, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Sanford, 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 Sanford
Vehicle theft runs low. Sanford has 1.2 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 2.7.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Sanford
Most of Sanford grades well for property crime: 96% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Property crime grades across Sanford run from A+ to C+.
96%
A or B 96%C 4%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Property crime rates and types in Sanford
CrimeGrade™ estimates Sanford has about 23 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to 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 Sanford, about 52% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
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.
Property crime in Sanford and nearby cities
Of the 4 cities closest to Sanford, 3 have less property crime. Olivia and Broadway have the least.
Night lighting, walkability and transit in Sanford
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Sanford apart: it has 41% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (7 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, yet vandalism runs higher here than that would suggest.
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.41% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 90% 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. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 87% 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 Sanford: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 83% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 66% 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.7.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 62% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Sanford 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 Sanford
Property crime costs Sanford about $11 million a year, or $157 per resident and about $439 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
$1.7 million
$23
Theft
$4.4 million
$62
Vehicle theft
$1.3 million
$18
Arson
$170,000
$2
Vandalism
$3.8 million
$52
Total
$11 million
$157
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
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
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.
