The Winston-Salem metro area, the 88th-largest in the US, is home to 689,800 residents; Winston-Salem itself is the fifth-largest city in North Carolina · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in the Winston-Salem area?
The Winston-Salem area earns an A- for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 53% of Americans live. Theft makes up 51% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades A. The city of Winston-Salem itself grades B for property crime.
A-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 805 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
47% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than the Winston-Salem area as a whole, and 53% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. The Winston-Salem area scores 805.
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 Winston-Salem, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in the Winston-Salem area, 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 the Winston-Salem area
One part of Winston-Salem stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Ardmore, Downtown Winston-Salem & West Salem, in central Winston-Salem, run at about double the rate in the rest of the city.
Burglaries run high for a metro area with an A for property crime. The Winston-Salem area has 3.9 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US metro area graded A for property crime, the figure is 1.9.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in the Winston-Salem area
Most of the Winston-Salem area grades well for property crime: 88% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across the Winston-Salem area run from A+ to F.
88%
A or B 88%C 8%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Neighborhoods of Winston-Salem
1British Woods, Atwood Acres & Cross Winds, southwestCar thefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Winston-Salem.B+743
2The Village, Country Club & South Peace Haven, westBurglaries run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Winston-Salem.B+731
3Town and Country Estates, Salemtowne & Ridgemere, northwestBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Winston-Salem.B+696
4Belview & Waughtown, southeastCar thefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Winston-Salem.B686
5Konnoak, South View & Washington Park, southClose to the rest of Winston-Salem on most crimes.B-612
6Ogburn Station & Ledera Crest, northeastClose to the rest of Winston-Salem on most crimes.B-558
7Wake Forest University, Brookwood & Kimberly Gateway Commons, northBurglaries run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Winston-Salem.C+494
8Ardmore, Downtown Winston-Salem & West Salem, centralBurglaries run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Winston-Salem.C453
9East Winston, Winston-Salem State University & Skyland, eastBurglaries run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Winston-Salem.C420
Neighborhood areas of the city of Winston-Salem, 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.
Cities and towns in the Winston-Salem metro area with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Property crime rates and types in the Winston-Salem area
CrimeGrade™ estimates the Winston-Salem area has about 26 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 10% more than 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 the Winston-Salem area, about 51% 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 the Winston-Salem area
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across the Winston-Salem area, 2022 to 2024.
In the Winston-Salem area, 68% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 43% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (68%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (53%)
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 the Winston-Salem area and nearby metro areas
Of the 10 metro areas closest to the Winston-Salem area, 6 have less property crime. The Knoxville area and the Augusta area have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from the Winston-Salem area. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with metro areas of similar size and density, the Winston-Salem area has more property crime than 67% of them.
Density, night lighting and empty homes in the Winston-Salem area
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, one sets the Winston-Salem area apart: it has 4% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less car theft; here car theft sits near the national middle.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.4% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 96% of Americans in metro areas
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.59% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 93% of Americans in metro areas
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary.8.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 84% of Americans in metro areas
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 the Winston-Salem area
Property crime costs the Winston-Salem area about $128 million a year, or $186 per resident and about $464 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
$24 million
$35
Theft
$47 million
$69
Vehicle theft
$21 million
$31
Arson
$3.0 million
$4
Vandalism
$33 million
$47
Total
$128 million
$186
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. These figures cover the whole Winston-Salem metro area. 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.
