The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Tar Heel, NC: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	D-
Property Crime Grade	D+
Other Crime Grade	D

Which crimes are included?

$942,428

Cost of Crime™ for Tar Heel, NC

In 2025, crime will cost $1,681 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Tar Heel with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Tar Heel, NC Safe?

The D overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Tar Heel's combined rate is higher than the norm. Tar Heel sits in the 20th percentile, ahead of 20% of cities and behind 80%. The grade covers only Tar Heel's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Tar Heel is 38.25 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northwest part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 20 in the south neighborhoods to 1 in 34 in the northwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southeast parts of Tar Heel, NC report the most crime, about 19 cases per year. The north part reports the fewest, around 2 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Tar Heel, NC

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Tar Heel for 2025 is $942,428, about $642 per resident and $1,681 per household. That equals 1.4% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 53.2%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 34.9%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.9%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Tar Heel Compared to Other Cities?

Tar Heel, NC:	$642
Enfield, NC:	$1641
St. James, NC:	$251
North Carolina:	$538
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Tar Heel is $642 per year, which is $178 more than the national average and $105 more than North Carolina's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Tar Heel:

In Enfield, NC, crime costs $1,641 per person, which is $999 more than in Tar Heel.
In St. James, NC, crime costs $251 per person, which is $392 less than in Tar Heel

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Tar Heel for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Tar Heel	Cost per Tar Heel Resident
Murder	$318,453	$217
Rape/Sexual Assault	$47,947	$33
Robbery	$47,482	$32
Assault	$167,037	$114
Kidnapping	$15,021	$10
Vehicle Theft	$36,451	$25
Burglary	$72,106	$49
Theft	$93,515	$64
Arson	$7,056	$5
Vandalism	$82,361	$56
Animal Cruelty	$828	$1
Drug Crimes	$48,720	$33
Identity Theft	$5,451	$4
Total Cost of Crime	$942,428	$642

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Tar Heel, NC

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Tar Heel totals $2,405,656 ($1,640 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $3,348,084 ($2,282 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The southeast part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas do the same, and of Tar Heel's 1,467 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Tar Heel, NC at ISP Reports.

Tar Heel Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Tar Heel residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	3.965
Robbery	1.029
Rape	0.5390
Murder	0.1155
Total Violent Crime	5.648 (D-)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	12.31
Vehicle Theft	1.605
Burglary	5.419
Arson	0.1992
Total Property Crime	19.53 (D+)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.1689
Drug Crimes	4.490
Vandalism	7.859
Identity Theft	0.4801
Animal Cruelty	0.0763
Total "Other" Rate	13.07 (D)

Individual Tar Heel Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Tar Heel is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Tar Heel.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Tolarsville, NC	D+	D	C-
Dublin, NC	D+	D	C
White Oak, NC	D	D	D
St. Pauls, NC	D-	D-	D-
Elizabethtown, NC	F	F	D-
Lumberton, NC	F	F	F
Rex, NC	F	D	F
Rennert, NC	D	D	D
Buie, NC	D	C-	D+
White Lake, NC	C-	C-	D+

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Tar Heel is higher versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Salisbury, VT	A	B	B
Canada, KY	C+	B-	B-
Castle Creek, NY	A	B-	B-
Clinchco, VA	D+	C	C
Cornish, ME	B+	A+	A+
Crawford, CO	B	C+	C+
Culloden, GA	C+	C+	C+
DeSmet, SD	C	C	C
Dunes City, OR	B	C	C
Key Center, WA	D	D	D

Considering only the crime rate, Tar Heel is as safe as the North Carolina state average and less safe than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Tar Heel, NC average SchoolGrade of B-, with 41% actual proficiency versus 34% projected; overall, schools greatly exceed expectations. See Tar Heel schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.