The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Chapel Hill, NC: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	D+
Property Crime Grade	D-
Other Crime Grade	D

Which crimes are included?

$350.2 million

Cost of Crime™ for Chapel Hill, NC

In 2025, crime will cost $1,368 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of the Chapel Hill area with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Chapel Hill, NC Safe?

The D overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where the Chapel Hill area's combined rate is higher than the norm. Chapel Hill sits in the 16th percentile, ahead of 16% of cities and behind 84%. The grade covers only the Chapel Hill area's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in the Chapel Hill area is 41.08 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the west part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 19 in the east neighborhoods to 1 in 38 in the west.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the east parts of Chapel Hill, NC report the most crime, about 7,748 cases per year. The west part reports the fewest, around 516 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Chapel Hill, NC

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Chapel Hill for 2025 is $350,231,281, about $569 per resident and $1,368 per household. That equals 1.2% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 56.6%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 31.9%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.5%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Chapel Hill Compared to Other Cities?

Chapel Hill, NC:	$569
Enfield, NC:	$1641
St. James, NC:	$251
North Carolina:	$538
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Chapel Hill is $569 per year, which is $104 more than the national average and $31 more than North Carolina's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Chapel Hill:

In Enfield, NC, crime costs $1,641 per person, which is $1,073 more than in Chapel Hill.
In St. James, NC, crime costs $251 per person, which is $318 less than in Chapel Hill

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Chapel Hill for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Chapel Hill	Cost per Chapel Hill Resident
Murder	$93.8 million	$152
Rape/Sexual Assault	$20.9 million	$34
Robbery	$17.2 million	$28
Assault	$48.7 million	$79
Kidnapping	$7.14 million	$12
Vehicle Theft	$25.9 million	$42
Burglary	$24.8 million	$40
Theft	$54.1 million	$88
Arson	$2.26 million	$4
Vandalism	$25.4 million	$41
Animal Cruelty	$290,866	$0
Drug Crimes	$27.7 million	$45
Identity Theft	$1.96 million	$3
Total Cost of Crime	$350,231,281	$569

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Chapel Hill, NC

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Chapel Hill totals $743,080,324 ($1,206 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $1,093,311,605 ($1,775 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The east part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which the Chapel Hill area has 17, do the same, and of the Chapel Hill area's 616,038 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Chapel Hill, NC at ISP Reports.

Chapel Hill Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Chapel Hill residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	2.752
Robbery	0.8876
Rape	0.5600
Murder	0.0810
Total Violent Crime	4.281 (D+)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	16.96
Vehicle Theft	2.715
Burglary	4.445
Arson	0.1517
Total Property Crime	24.27 (D-)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.1911
Drug Crimes	6.084
Vandalism	5.774
Identity Theft	0.4114
Animal Cruelty	0.0638
Total "Other" Rate	12.52 (D)

Individual Chapel Hill Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in the Chapel Hill area is similar. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to the Chapel Hill area.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Carrboro, NC	C-	C	C-
Durham, NC	D-	D	D-
Orange Grove, NC	C-	C-	C
Hillsborough, NC	D+	C-	D+
Morrisville, NC	C-	A-	C-
Saxapahaw, NC	C	C	C-
Efland, NC	D+	C-	D
Mebane, NC	C-	C-	C-
Gorman, NC	F	F	F
Swepsonville, NC	B-	B+	C+

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Chapel Hill is higher versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Harrisburg, PA	B+	B+	B+
Spokane, WA	D-	C-	C-
Jackson, MS	B	A-	A-
Toledo, OH	D+	D+	D+
Melbourne, FL	A	A-	A-
Augusta, GA	C	C-	C-
Chattanooga, TN	D	D	D
Springfield, MA	C+	D	D
Wichita, KS	D-	D-	D-
Syracuse, NY	C+	D	D

Considering only the crime rate, the Chapel Hill area is less safe than the North Carolina state average and less safe than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Chapel Hill, NC average SchoolGrade of B, with 45% actual proficiency versus 39% projected; overall, schools greatly exceed expectations. See Chapel Hill schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.