Kenly is a town of 8,500 in Johnston County, about 30 miles east of downtown Raleigh · Updated November 2026
Is Kenly, NC safe?
Yes, by national standards: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Kenly is low. Most US neighborhoods have even less, though: 61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Kenly run from A+ to D+, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 772 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Kenly as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Kenly scores 772.
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 Kenly, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Kenly, 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 Kenly
Aggravated assault is a strength. Kenly grades B+ for violent crime, but aggravated assault grades A, better than in the neighborhoods where 59% of Americans live.
Crime rates and types in Kenly
CrimeGrade™ estimates Kenly has about 40 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 7% more than the US as a whole and close to 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 Kenly, about 39% 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.
Two things set Kenly apart: it has 22% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and 0% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, yet vandalism runs higher here than that would suggest.
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.22% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 95% 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.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 94% 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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (4 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 93% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Kenly: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.22 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 83% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.7.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 71% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Kenly 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 Kenly
Crime costs Kenly about $2,726 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than 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 $48 million a year, or $5,635 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$6.0 million
$710
Rape
$150,000
$18
Robbery
$31,000
$4
Assault
$980,000
$115
Burglary
$190,000
$22
Theft
$670,000
$79
Vehicle theft
$200,000
$23
Arson
$27,000
$3
Vandalism
$530,000
$62
Total
$8.8 million
$1,036
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 Kenly 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 Kenly, NC average a SchoolGrade of A-: 61% of students test proficient, against 50% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Kenly on SchoolGrade
