The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Pitt County, NC
Pitt County is home to 177,200 residents and includes Greenville and Winterville · Updated November 2026
Is Pitt County, NC safe?
Crime in Pitt County is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 62% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Pitt County. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Pitt County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 762 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
38% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Pitt County as a whole, and 62% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Pitt County scores 762.
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 Pitt County, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Pitt 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 Pitt County
Car thefts are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Pitt County runs 28% above the US rate, but car thefts run 48% below it: 1.4 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Burglaries happen at homes more often than nationally. In Pitt County, 81% of reported burglaries happen at homes, against 57% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Pitt County
Most of Pitt County grades well: 82% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 6% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Pitt County run from A+ to F; 30% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
82%12%
A or B 82%C 12%D or F 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Pitt 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 Grimesland area has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Pitt County?
Reported violent crime in Pitt County peaked in 2022 and has fallen 11% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 14% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.6 to 3.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 24 to 20 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Pitt CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Pitt County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Pitt County
Violent, US
Property, Pitt County
Property, US
2016
+19%
+4%
+30%
+15%
2017
+32%
+4%
+22%
+12%
2018
+15%
+0%
-3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+5%
+4%
-12%
-8%
2021
+12%
+6%
-26%
-10%
2022
+22%
+5%
-18%
-6%
2023
+21%
+2%
-6%
-7%
2024
+8%
-4%
-14%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Pitt County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Pitt County has about 48 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 28% more than the US as a whole and 18% more 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 Pitt County, about 42% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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 Pitt County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Pitt County, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 54% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (81%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
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 Pitt County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Pitt County, 6 have less crime. Jones County and Beaufort County have the least.
Transit, empty homes and walkability in Pitt County
Two things set Pitt County apart: it has a Walk Grade of D- (11 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 7% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
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 Pitt County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.8.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 78% of Americans
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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (11 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 75% 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.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 72% 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.73% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 69% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.10.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 60% 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 Pitt County
Crime costs Pitt County about $1,471 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 22% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $103 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 $364 million a year, or $2,055 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$29 million
$165
Rape
$1.7 million
$9
Robbery
$2.2 million
$13
Assault
$38 million
$217
Burglary
$3.9 million
$22
Theft
$15 million
$82
Vehicle theft
$3.8 million
$21
Arson
$480,000
$3
Vandalism
$8.7 million
$49
Total
$103 million
$581
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 Pitt 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 Pitt County, NC average a SchoolGrade of C: 52% of students test proficient, against 44% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Pitt County on SchoolGrade
