Spencer is a town of 4,480 in Rowan County, about 40 miles northeast of downtown Charlotte · Updated November 2026
Is Spencer, NC safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, Spencer has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 68% 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 Spencer run from A to B-, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 709 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
32% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Spencer as a whole, and 68% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Spencer scores 709.
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 Spencer, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Spencer, 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
Crime rates and types in Spencer
CrimeGrade™ estimates Spencer has about 34 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 8% less than the US as a whole and 16% 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 Spencer, about 40% 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.
How Spencer compares with nearby cities
Of the 6 cities closest to Spencer, 5 have less crime. Linwood and Faith have the least.
Two things set Spencer apart: it has 12.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 29 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% 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.12.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% 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. 71% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 64% 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 Spencer: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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.75% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 75% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.29 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 73% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Spencer 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 Spencer
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Spencer about $1,580 a year per household, 31% more 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 $10 million a year, or $2,271 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$960,000
$213
Rape
$75,000
$17
Robbery
$78,000
$17
Assault
$700,000
$155
Burglary
$85,000
$19
Theft
$240,000
$53
Vehicle theft
$170,000
$38
Arson
$13,000
$3
Vandalism
$140,000
$32
Total
$2.5 million
$548
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 Spencer 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 Spencer, NC average a SchoolGrade of F: 25% of students test proficient, against 30% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Spencer on SchoolGrade
