East Durham is a neighborhood of 5,370 residents in Durham, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is East Durham in Durham safe?
East Durham is among the higher-crime places in the US: an overall CrimeGrade™ of F, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 98% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade F here. Durham as a whole grades B-. Every neighborhood in East Durham grades F.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
2% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than East Durham as a whole, and 98% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. East Durham scores 0.
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 East Durham, Durham, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in East Durham 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 East Durham
Burglaries run high for an F-graded neighborhood. East Durham has 14.7 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an F-graded US neighborhood, the figure is 4.6.
Robberies and car thefts both run high. In East Durham, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 6.8 robberies and 19.4 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.7 nationally.
Crime rates and types in East Durham
CrimeGrade™ estimates East Durham has about 167 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for Durham as a whole.
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.
Assault is the most common crime in East Durham, about 33% of everything reported.
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
The Durham Police Department polices East Durham; these figures cover Durham as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Durham as a whole, 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 East Durham compares with nearby neighborhoods
East Durham has the most crime of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Empty homes, tree cover and walkability in East Durham
Two things set East Durham apart: it has 18.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and tree cover over 37% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.18.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.37% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 96% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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.C+ (42 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 57% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.19% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 81% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 East Durham
Crime costs East Durham about $6,604 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than triple the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $65 million a year, or $12,038 per resident.
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 East 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 East Durham, Durham, NC average a SchoolGrade of D-: 42% of students test proficient, against 29% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in East Durham on SchoolGrade
