The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Durham, NC
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
Is Durham, NC safe?
Crime in Durham is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B-. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 79% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Durham. Violent and property crime both grade B- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Durham run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 568 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
21% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Durham as a whole, and 79% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Durham scores 568.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 in Durham
Car thefts run high in Downtown Durham, Forest Hills & Old North Durham. In this part of central Durham, they run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Durham.
Murder stands out among B-graded cities. For the typical resident of a B-graded US city, the figure is 0.04 murders a year per 1,000 residents; Durham has 0.12.
Robberies run high. Durham has robberies at more than double the US rate: 1.5 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Durham
Safety changes a lot from one part of Durham to the next: 56% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 28% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Durham run from A+ to F; 21% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
56%16%28%
A or B 56%C 16%D or F 28%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Woodcroft, Sayward Drive & Hope Valley, southwestRobberies run at less than half the rate in the rest of Durham.A-806
2Research Triangle Park, Northwest Raleigh & Triangle Development, southeastCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Durham.A-791
3Old West Durham, northwestAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Durham.B+709
4North Garrett Road & Tuscaloosa-Lakewood, westRobberies run at less than half the rate in the rest of Durham.B+695
5Northeast Durham, northeastCar thefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Durham.B634
6Hillside Park, southClose to the rest of Durham on most crimes.C+504
7Northgate Park, Trinity Park & Walltown, northCar thefts run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Durham.C438
8East Durham, Wellons Village & Y.E. Smith, eastRobberies run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Durham.D192
9Downtown Durham, Forest Hills & Old North Durham, centralMurders run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Durham.F0
Neighborhood areas of Durham, ranked by overall 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 crime going up in Durham?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Durham is down 16%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 7.3 to 6.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 38 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
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
Violent, Durham
Violent, US
Property, Durham
Property, US
2016
+11%
+4%
-3%
+15%
2017
+12%
+4%
+0%
+12%
2018
-2%
+0%
-7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+19%
+4%
-0%
-8%
2021
+4%
+6%
-11%
-10%
2022
-7%
+5%
-14%
-6%
2023
-13%
+2%
-1%
-7%
2024
-16%
-4%
-1%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Durham
CrimeGrade™ estimates Durham has about 60 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 62% more than the US as a whole and 48% more than North Carolina.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft makes up about 43% of crime reported in Durham. Murder is less common but costs more, because each one does far more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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 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. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 61% of them, against 34% 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)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (54%)
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.
How Durham compares with nearby cities
Durham has the most crime of its 6 nearest cities.
Two things 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 and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.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 and robbery. 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 and assault. 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 crime costs Durham
Crime costs Durham about $2,010 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 67% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $259 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $912 million a year, or $2,837 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$71 million
$223
Rape
$10 million
$32
Robbery
$15 million
$47
Assault
$60 million
$188
Burglary
$13 million
$41
Theft
$42 million
$132
Vehicle theft
$29 million
$91
Arson
$890,000
$3
Vandalism
$16 million
$49
Total
$259 million
$805
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Durham means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Durham, NC average a SchoolGrade of C+: 55% of students test proficient, against 43% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Durham on SchoolGrade
