Sterling, Charlotte, NC Violent Crime Rates and Maps
Sterling is a neighborhood of 3,220 residents in Charlotte, about 8 miles south of downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Sterling?
Violent crime is high in Sterling: a C+, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 86% of Americans live. Assaults make up 88% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Charlotte as a whole grades C+ for violent crime.
C+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 498 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
14% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Sterling as a whole, and 86% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Sterling scores 498.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Sterling, Charlotte, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Sterling in Charlotte, 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 about violent crime in Sterling
Aggravated assaults run high. Sterling has aggravated assaults at more than triple the US rate: 9.9 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Violent crime rates and types in Sterling
CrimeGrade™ estimates Sterling has about 44 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for Charlotte as a whole.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Sterling, about 88% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Charlotte
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department polices Sterling; these figures cover Charlotte as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Charlotte as a whole, 57% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 48% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (57%)
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.
Violent crime in Sterling and nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to Sterling, 7 have less violent crime. Beverly Woods and Sharon Woods have the least.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Sterling apart: it has 178 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and a Walk Grade of D- (8 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.178 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 assault. 97% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 94% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.2.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 94% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.30% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 91% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 violent crime costs Sterling
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Sterling about $17 million a year, or $5,258 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $3.5 million, or $1,103 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Sterling is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse 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
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department publishes its own crime data
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.
