The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Watauga County, NC
Watauga County is home to 55,100 residents and includes Boone and Blowing Rock · Updated November 2026
Is Watauga County, NC safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Watauga County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 84% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map and the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 945 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
84% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Watauga County as a whole, and 16% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Watauga County scores 945.
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 Watauga County, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Watauga County, 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 Watauga County
Car thefts and aggravated assaults both run low. In Watauga County, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.48 car thefts and 0.48 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.6 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen in the morning far more often than nationally. In Watauga County, 47% of reported thefts from cars happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 23% nationally.
How places in Watauga County compare
Every part of Watauga County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Watauga County run from A+ to A-; 98% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Watauga County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the northeast side has the least crime and the Boone area the most.
Is crime going up in Watauga County?
Reported crime in Watauga County has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 22% and property crime down 33%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.0 to 0.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 10 to 6.8 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 28%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Watauga CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Watauga County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Watauga County
Violent, US
Property, Watauga County
Property, US
2016
+24%
+4%
+46%
+15%
2017
+5%
+4%
+43%
+12%
2018
-30%
+0%
+12%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-11%
+4%
+3%
-8%
2021
+39%
+6%
+2%
-10%
2022
-16%
+5%
+3%
-6%
2023
-7%
+2%
-6%
-7%
2024
-22%
-4%
-33%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Watauga County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Watauga County has about 13 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 66% less than the US as a whole and 69% 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Watauga County, about 36% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Watauga County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Watauga County, 2022 to 2024.
In Watauga County, 63% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (63%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (54%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (39%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (52%)
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 Watauga County compares with nearby counties
Watauga County has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties; only Ashe County and Mitchell County have less.
Shops, empty homes and walkability in Watauga County
Two things set Watauga County apart: it has 15.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 11.3% 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.15.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 97% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.11.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 90% of Americans
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. 77% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 56% of Americans
Show all 6
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.42% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 88% of Americans
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 Watauga County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.14% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 53% of Americans
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 Watauga County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Watauga County about $584 a year per household, 52% 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 $57 million a year, or $1,041 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$6.2 million
$113
Rape
$820,000
$15
Robbery
$98,000
$2
Assault
$2.0 million
$36
Burglary
$730,000
$13
Theft
$1.3 million
$24
Vehicle theft
$410,000
$7
Arson
$78,000
$1
Vandalism
$840,000
$15
Total
$12 million
$227
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 Watauga County 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 Watauga County, NC average a SchoolGrade of A-: 62% of students test proficient, against 53% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Watauga County on SchoolGrade
