Ellerbe is a town of 2,570 in Richmond County, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Albemarle · Updated November 2026
Is Ellerbe, NC safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Ellerbe has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Every neighborhood in Ellerbe grades A.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 882 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Ellerbe as a whole, and 39% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Ellerbe scores 882.
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 Ellerbe, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Ellerbe, 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 Ellerbe
Burglaries run high. Ellerbe has burglaries at more than triple the US rate: 11.9 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 nationally.
Car thefts happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Ellerbe, 76% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Ellerbe
CrimeGrade™ estimates Ellerbe has about 79 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for 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 is the most common crime in Ellerbe, about 28% 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 Ellerbe
The Richmond County Sheriff's Office polices Ellerbe, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Ellerbe, 83% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 74% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (83%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (76%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (74%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (74%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (68%)
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 Ellerbe compares with nearby cities
Of the 5 cities closest to Ellerbe, 3 have less crime. Foxfire and Jackson Springs have the least.
Two things set Ellerbe apart: it has 18.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 13% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary runs high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.18.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% 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. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 82% 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.13% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.15 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 93% 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 Ellerbe: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Ellerbe 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 Ellerbe
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Ellerbe about $2,496 a year per household, about double 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 $14 million a year, or $5,385 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.4 million
$551
Rape
$98,000
$38
Robbery
$69,000
$27
Assault
$630,000
$243
Burglary
$280,000
$107
Theft
$290,000
$115
Vehicle theft
$190,000
$73
Arson
$26,000
$10
Vandalism
$320,000
$124
Total
$3.3 million
$1,288
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 Ellerbe 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. Ellerbe is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Ellerbe, NC average a SchoolGrade of D-: 41% of students test proficient, against 42% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Ellerbe on SchoolGrade
