The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in New Bern, NC
New Bern is a city of 53,800 in Craven County, about 40 miles southeast of downtown Greenville · Updated November 2026
Is New Bern, NC safe?
Yes, crime in New Bern is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, New Bern sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 47% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within New Bern run from A+ to F, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 821 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
47% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than New Bern as a whole, and 53% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. New Bern scores 821.
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 New Bern, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in New Bern, 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 New Bern
Car thefts are uncommon. New Bern has car thefts at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.65 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of New Bern
Low crime is the norm across New Bern: 93% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 5% in areas graded D or F. Grades across New Bern run from A+ to F; 57% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
93%
A or B 93%C 2%D or F 5%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within New Bern, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in New Bern?
Reported crime in New Bern has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 21% and property crime down 54%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.4 to 3.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 34 to 16 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 23% and property crime fell 22%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
New BernUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves New Bern. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, New Bern
Violent, US
Property, New Bern
Property, US
2016
-4%
+4%
+4%
+15%
2017
+10%
+4%
+0%
+12%
2018
-12%
+0%
-7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+40%
+4%
-11%
-8%
2021
+11%
+6%
-24%
-10%
2022
+14%
+5%
-40%
-6%
2023
-36%
+2%
-41%
-7%
2024
-20%
-4%
-54%
-15%
Crime rates and types in New Bern
CrimeGrade™ estimates New Bern has about 31 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 16% less than the US as a whole and 23% 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.
Assault is the most common crime in New Bern, about 43% 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 New Bern
New Bern has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In New Bern, 68% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 52% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (68%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (45%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (53%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (54%)
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 New Bern compares with nearby cities
Of the 3 cities closest to New Bern, 2 have less crime. Trent Woods and James City have the least.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in New Bern
Two things set New Bern apart: it has 10.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 4% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary runs high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.10.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 86% 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.55% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 85% 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. 87% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 70% 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 New Bern: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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.4% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 75% 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 New Bern
Crime costs New Bern about $1,035 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 14% 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 $89 million a year, or $1,661 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$7.7 million
$144
Rape
$780,000
$15
Robbery
$470,000
$9
Assault
$7.7 million
$144
Burglary
$1.1 million
$21
Theft
$2.6 million
$48
Vehicle theft
$540,000
$10
Arson
$83,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.8 million
$34
Total
$23 million
$426
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 New Bern 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 New Bern, NC average a SchoolGrade of C+: 55% of students test proficient, against 48% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in New Bern on SchoolGrade
