Spindale is a town of 4,660 in Rutherford County, about 20 miles west of Shelby · Updated November 2026
Is Spindale, NC safe?
Yes, by national standards: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Spindale is low. Most US neighborhoods have even less, though: 61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 774 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Spindale as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Spindale scores 774.
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 Spindale, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Spindale, 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 Spindale
Burglary stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 1.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; Spindale has 4.4.
Crime rates and types in Spindale
CrimeGrade™ estimates Spindale has about 57 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 54% more than the US as a whole and 41% 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.
Theft makes up about 41% of crime reported in Spindale. 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.
The Spindale Police Department sent the FBI no 2024 counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, burglary, theft and vehicle theft and no recent year to build on, so CrimeGrade™ made its own estimates. The department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Spindale compares with nearby cities
Spindale has the most crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Two things set Spindale apart: it has 0% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 16.5 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places where few residents live in dense blocks tend to report less robbery and car theft; here car theft sits near the national middle.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 93% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.16.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 92% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 87% 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.9.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 84% 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 Spindale: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 Spindale
Crime costs Spindale about $1,477 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 23% 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 $7.9 million a year, or $1,699 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$500,000
$108
Rape
$130,000
$27
Robbery
$45,000
$10
Assault
$890,000
$191
Burglary
$190,000
$40
Theft
$560,000
$121
Vehicle theft
$210,000
$45
Arson
$24,000
$5
Vandalism
$210,000
$44
Total
$2.8 million
$591
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 Spindale 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 Spindale, NC average a SchoolGrade of B-: 55% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Spindale on SchoolGrade
