The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Matthews, NC
Matthews is a town of 50,600 in Mecklenburg County, about 10 miles southeast of downtown Charlotte · Updated November 2026
Is Matthews, NC safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Matthews is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Matthews sits near the middle: 43% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 57% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Matthews run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 800 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
43% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Matthews as a whole, and 57% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Matthews scores 800.
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 Matthews, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Matthews, 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 Matthews
Car thefts run high in Idlewild South. In this part of northwest Matthews, they run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Matthews.
Robberies run high for an A-graded city. Matthews has 0.47 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Matthews
Most of Matthews grades well: 89% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Matthews run from A+ to F; 48% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
89%
A or B 89%C 7%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Providence Estates East, southwestThefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Matthews.A910
2Hembstead, westBurglaries run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Matthews.A883
3Marshbrooke & East Forest, northCar thefts run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Matthews.B+737
4Idlewild South, northwestAggravated assaults run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Matthews.C+515
Neighborhood areas of Matthews, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Matthews?
Reported violent crime in Matthews peaked in 2021 and has fallen 30% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 22% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.7 to 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 33 to 26 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 23% and property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
MatthewsUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Matthews. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Matthews
Violent, US
Property, Matthews
Property, US
2016
-15%
+4%
+2%
+15%
2017
+1%
+4%
-6%
+12%
2018
+21%
+0%
-13%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+17%
+4%
+10%
-8%
2021
+50%
+6%
+5%
-10%
2022
-8%
+5%
-13%
-6%
2023
+36%
+2%
-13%
-7%
2024
+6%
-4%
-22%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Matthews
CrimeGrade™ estimates Matthews has about 39 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 6% 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 makes up about 43% of crime reported in Matthews. 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 Matthews
Matthews has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Matthews, 40% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 52% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (40%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (47%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (52%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Stores and businesses (26%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (67%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (42%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Matthews compares with nearby cities
Matthews has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities. Weddington and Marvin have the least crime nearby.
Walkability, transit and night lighting in Matthews
Two things set Matthews apart: it has a Walk Grade of D- (8 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 8 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places that are hard to get around on foot 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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% 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 Matthews: D- (9 of 100).8 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 81% of US city residents
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 69% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 69% 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.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 67% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 64% 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 Matthews
Crime costs Matthews about $1,016 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 16% 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 $48 million a year, or $948 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.6 million
$52
Rape
$550,000
$11
Robbery
$750,000
$15
Assault
$6.2 million
$123
Burglary
$1.4 million
$29
Theft
$4.4 million
$88
Vehicle theft
$1.6 million
$31
Arson
$42,000
$1
Vandalism
$1.4 million
$27
Total
$19 million
$375
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 Matthews 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 Matthews, NC average a SchoolGrade of A+: 73% of students test proficient, against 59% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Matthews on SchoolGrade
