The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Knightdale, NC
Knightdale is a town of 34,200 in Wake County, about 9 miles east of downtown Raleigh · Updated November 2026
Is Knightdale, NC safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Knightdale is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Knightdale sits near the middle: 49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Knightdale run from A+ to B+, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 831 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Knightdale as a whole, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Knightdale scores 831.
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 Knightdale, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Knightdale, 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 Knightdale
Vehicle theft stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.93 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents; Knightdale has 2.8.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Knightdale, 70% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Knightdale
Every part of Knightdale where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Knightdale run from A+ to B+; 53% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Knightdale, the south side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Knightdale?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Knightdale is down 23% and property crime is up 48%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.4 to 1.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 19 to 28 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 37%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
KnightdaleUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Knightdale. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Knightdale
Violent, US
Property, Knightdale
Property, US
2016
-38%
+4%
+26%
+15%
2017
-64%
+4%
+18%
+12%
2018
-12%
+0%
-2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+5%
+4%
-1%
-8%
2021
-11%
+6%
+12%
-10%
2022
-14%
+5%
+37%
-6%
2023
+22%
+2%
+44%
-7%
2024
-24%
-4%
+48%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Knightdale
CrimeGrade™ estimates Knightdale has about 35 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 6% less 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 makes up about 46% of crime reported in Knightdale. Assault is less common but 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 Knightdale
Knightdale has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Knightdale, 57% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (57%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (64%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (70%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (29%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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 Knightdale compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Knightdale, 7 have less crime. Archer Lodge and Middlesex have the least.
Two things set Knightdale apart: it has a Walk Grade of D- (10 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 27 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and assault, yet theft and assault run higher here than that would suggest.
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. 89% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 75% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.27 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 75% 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.4.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 68% 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.87% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 65% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 64% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 62% of US city residents
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 Knightdale
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Knightdale about $917 a year per household, 24% 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 $28 million a year, or $832 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.4 million
$40
Rape
$350,000
$10
Robbery
$210,000
$6
Assault
$3.5 million
$103
Burglary
$470,000
$14
Theft
$2.8 million
$82
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$43
Arson
$42,000
$1
Vandalism
$1.1 million
$32
Total
$11 million
$332
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 Knightdale 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 Knightdale, NC average a SchoolGrade of D: 48% of students test proficient, against 39% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Knightdale on SchoolGrade
