Wilmington is a city of 176,200 in New Hanover County and the main city of the Wilmington metro area, home to 453,300 · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Wilmington?
Property crime in Wilmington runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Theft makes up 66% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B+, and vehicle theft grades A.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 754 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Wilmington as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wilmington scores 754.
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 Wilmington, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wilmington, 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 Wilmington
One part of Wilmington stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in South Side, in west Wilmington, run at more than triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Wilmington
Low property crime is the norm across Wilmington: 88% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Wilmington run from A+ to F.
88%
A or B 88%C 9%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Silver Lake, southCar thefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Wilmington.A-833
2Bayshore, Kirkland & Ogden, northeastCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Wilmington.A-816
3College Park & Landfall, eastClose to the rest of Wilmington on most crimes.B+746
4Sunset Park & Shipyard Plaza, southwestBurglaries run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Wilmington.B+697
5Carolina Heights & Downtown Wilmington, northwestCar thefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Wilmington.B+695
6Creekwood, northBurglaries run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Wilmington.B670
7Forest Hills-Wilmington & Oleander, centralCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Wilmington.B649
8South Side, westBurglaries run at more than double the rate in the rest of Wilmington.C419
Neighborhood areas of Wilmington, 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 Wilmington?
Reported property crime in Wilmington has risen 19% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 29 to 35 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
WilmingtonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Wilmington. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Wilmington
Property, US
2016
+37%
+15%
2017
+22%
+12%
2018
+1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-5%
-8%
2021
+2%
-10%
2022
-4%
-6%
2023
+19%
-7%
2024
+19%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Wilmington
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wilmington has about 35 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 48% more than the US as a whole and 35% 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 Wilmington, about 66% 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.
Where and when property crime happens in Wilmington
Wilmington has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Wilmington, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 41% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Wilmington and nearby cities
Wilmington has the most property crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Wilmington. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Wilmington has more property crime than 53% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Wilmington apart: it has 17.1 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 3.3 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.17.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 88% 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+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 53% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Wilmington: D- (12 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.61 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 76% 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.7.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 67% of US city residents
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 Wilmington
Property crime costs Wilmington about $41 million a year, or $231 per resident and about $548 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
$4.8 million
$27
Theft
$21 million
$119
Vehicle theft
$6.5 million
$37
Arson
$270,000
$2
Vandalism
$8.3 million
$47
Total
$41 million
$231
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.
