Surf City is a town of 5,380 in Pender County, about 25 miles northeast of downtown Wilmington · Updated November 2026
Is Surf City, NC safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Surf City is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Surf City sits near the middle: 49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 831 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Surf City as a whole, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Surf City scores 831.
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 Surf City, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Surf City, 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 Surf City
Aggravated assaults are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Surf City runs 43% above the US rate, but aggravated assaults run 27% below it: 1.9 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Simple assaults run high for an A-graded city. Surf City has 25.4 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 6.0.
Crime rates and types in Surf City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Surf City has about 53 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% more than the US as a whole and 32% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Surf City is assault, about 51% of the total. It also makes up 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 Surf City
Surf City has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Other places (25%)
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 Surf City compares with nearby cities
Surf City has more crime than 3 of its 5 nearest cities. Hampstead and Holly Ridge have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Surf City apart: it has 37.5 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 20.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.37.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% 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.20.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% 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.4.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 97% 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.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 91% 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.37% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 91% 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 Surf City
Crime costs Surf City about $1,287 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 7% 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 $6.4 million a year, or $1,197 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$300,000
$56
Rape
$140,000
$26
Robbery
$30,000
$5
Assault
$1.3 million
$239
Burglary
$79,000
$15
Theft
$420,000
$77
Vehicle theft
$82,000
$15
Arson
$8,300
$2
Vandalism
$290,000
$54
Total
$2.6 million
$489
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 Surf City 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 Surf City, NC average a SchoolGrade of A+: 69% of students test proficient, against 58% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Surf City on SchoolGrade
