Ela is a community of 61 in Swain County, about 19 miles north of downtown Franklin · Updated November 2026
Is Ela, NC safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Ela: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 92% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 966 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
92% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Ela as a whole, and 8% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Ela scores 966.
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 Ela, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Ela, 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
Crime rates and types in Ela
Ela has too few residents for a reliable rate per resident; its CrimeGrade™ compares crime with the people, homes and cars there instead.
Assault is the most common crime in Ela, about 41% 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.
How Ela compares with nearby cities
Ela has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities.
Crime costs Ela about $849 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 30% less than 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 $170,000 a year, or $2,770 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$17,000
$277
Rape
$2,600
$42
Robbery
$150
$3
Assault
$8,200
$133
Burglary
$2,300
$37
Theft
$2,000
$33
Vehicle theft
$1,400
$22
Arson
$460
$8
Vandalism
$1,300
$21
Total
$35,000
$576
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 Ela 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
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.
Schools in Ela, NC average a SchoolGrade of F: 43% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Ela on SchoolGrade
