The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Hertford County, NC
Hertford County is home to 19,900 residents and includes Ahoskie and Murfreesboro · Updated November 2026
Is Hertford County, NC safe?
Yes, crime in Hertford County is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Hertford County sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 54% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Hertford County run from A+ to C-, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 856 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Hertford County as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Hertford County scores 856.
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 Hertford County, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Hertford County, 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 Hertford County
Simple assaults are uncommon. Hertford County has simple assaults at less than half the US rate: 3.8 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Hertford County
Most of Hertford County grades well: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Hertford County run from A+ to C-; 48% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Across the county, the west side has the least crime and the Ahoskie area the most.
Is crime going up in Hertford County?
Reported crime in Hertford County has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 20% and property crime down 28%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.9 to 3.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 22 to 16 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 37%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Hertford CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Hertford County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Hertford County
Violent, US
Property, Hertford County
Property, US
2016
-28%
+4%
+10%
+15%
2017
-30%
+4%
+31%
+12%
2018
-4%
+0%
+4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-15%
+4%
-14%
-8%
2021
-8%
+6%
-31%
-10%
2022
-16%
+5%
-38%
-6%
2023
+26%
+2%
-22%
-7%
2024
-20%
-4%
-28%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Hertford County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Hertford County has about 33 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 12% less than the US as a whole and 19% less 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 is the most common crime in Hertford County, 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 Hertford County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Hertford County, 2022 to 2024.
In Hertford County, 75% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 47% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (75%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (47%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (53%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (55%)
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 Hertford County compares with nearby counties
Hertford County has more crime than 7 of its 10 nearest counties. Southampton County, VA and Gates County have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Hertford County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Hertford County has more crime than 96% of them.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Hertford County
Two things set Hertford County apart: it has 14.3% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 39% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson; here burglary sits near the national middle.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.14.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 96% of Americans
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.39% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 89% of Americans
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. 90% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 84% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 87% of Americans
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 Hertford County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 68% of Americans
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 Hertford County
Crime costs Hertford County about $1,667 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 38% more 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 $69 million a year, or $3,450 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$7.8 million
$390
Rape
$480,000
$24
Robbery
$250,000
$13
Assault
$1.8 million
$88
Burglary
$600,000
$30
Theft
$1.1 million
$56
Vehicle theft
$480,000
$24
Arson
$91,000
$5
Vandalism
$1.4 million
$70
Total
$14 million
$699
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 Hertford County 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 Hertford County, NC average a SchoolGrade of D-: 42% of students test proficient, against 35% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Hertford County on SchoolGrade
