The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Johnston County, NC
Johnston County is home to 234,300 residents and includes Clayton and Smithfield · Updated November 2026
Is Johnston County, NC safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Johnston County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 62% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Johnston County run from A+ to D+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 885 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
62% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Johnston County as a whole, and 38% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Johnston County scores 885.
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 Johnston County, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Johnston 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 Johnston County
Robberies are uncommon. Johnston County has robberies at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.14 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen at homes more often than nationally. In Johnston County, 58% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Johnston County
Low crime is the norm across Johnston County: 97% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 1% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Johnston County run from A+ to D+; 84% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
97%
A or B 97%C 2%D or F 1%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Johnston County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Willow Spring and Angier areas have the least crime and the Selma area the most.
Is crime going up in Johnston County?
Since 2019, reported property crime in Johnston County is down 28%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.8 to 1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 14 to 10 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 18% and property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Johnston CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Johnston County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Johnston County
Violent, US
Property, Johnston County
Property, US
2016
-3%
+4%
+39%
+15%
2017
-8%
+4%
+19%
+12%
2018
+5%
+0%
+3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-10%
+4%
+0%
-8%
2021
-20%
+6%
-10%
-10%
2022
-20%
+5%
-11%
-6%
2023
-21%
+2%
-20%
-7%
2024
-6%
-4%
-28%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Johnston County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Johnston County has about 23 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 39% less than the US as a whole and 44% 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 Johnston County, about 37% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does 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 Johnston County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Johnston County, 2022 to 2024.
In Johnston County, 72% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (72%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (54%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (54%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (63%)
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 Johnston County compares with nearby counties
Johnston County has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties; only Sampson County and Greene County have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Johnston 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, Johnston County is safer than 57% of them.
Two things set Johnston County apart: it has a Walk Grade of F (5 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 25 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
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. 96% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (5 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 95% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.25 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 94% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 91% 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 89% 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 Johnston County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% 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.51% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 82% 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 Johnston County
Crime costs Johnston County about $803 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 33% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $63 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 $215 million a year, or $917 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$15 million
$65
Rape
$3.0 million
$13
Robbery
$1.0 million
$4
Assault
$18 million
$78
Burglary
$3.4 million
$14
Theft
$10 million
$44
Vehicle theft
$4.3 million
$18
Arson
$400,000
$2
Vandalism
$7.7 million
$33
Total
$63 million
$271
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 Johnston 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 Johnston County, NC average a SchoolGrade of B-: 57% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Johnston County on SchoolGrade
