Tarawa Terrace is a city of 7,860 in Onslow County, about 3 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville · Updated November 2026
Is Tarawa Terrace, NC safe?
Yes, crime in Tarawa Terrace is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Tarawa Terrace sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 53% of Americans live. 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 850 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
53% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Tarawa Terrace as a whole, and 47% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Tarawa Terrace scores 850.
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.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Tarawa Terrace, 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 Tarawa Terrace
Theft runs low. Tarawa Terrace has 4.5 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 13.1.
Crime rates and types in Tarawa Terrace
CrimeGrade™ estimates Tarawa Terrace has about 18 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 53% less than the US as a whole and 56% 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 Tarawa Terrace, about 41% 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 Tarawa Terrace
The Jacksonville Police Department polices Tarawa Terrace; these figures cover Jacksonville as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Jacksonville as a whole, 12% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at other places: 46% of them, against 7% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Other places (66%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Other places (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Other places (46%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Other places (48%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Other places (54%)
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 Tarawa Terrace compares with nearby cities
Tarawa Terrace has less crime than 5 of its 7 nearest cities; only Camp Lejeune and Maysville have less.
Two things set Tarawa Terrace apart: it has 1.1 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 5 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.1.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 99% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.5 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower 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. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (4 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 94% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.16.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% 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 Tarawa Terrace: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 80% 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 Tarawa Terrace
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Tarawa Terrace about $916 a year per household, 24% less 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 $5.5 million a year, or $697 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$440,000
$56
Rape
$100,000
$13
Robbery
$14,000
$2
Assault
$530,000
$67
Burglary
$110,000
$13
Theft
$180,000
$23
Vehicle theft
$47,000
$6
Arson
$6,500
$1
Vandalism
$210,000
$27
Total
$1.6 million
$207
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 Tarawa Terrace 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. Tarawa Terrace is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Tarawa Terrace, NC average a SchoolGrade of C: 51% of students test proficient, against 45% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Tarawa Terrace on SchoolGrade
