Surf City is a town of 5,380 in Pender County, about 25 miles northeast of downtown Wilmington · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Surf City?
Surf City earns an A- for violent crime, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 62% of Americans live. Assaults make up 98% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 798 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
38% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Surf City as a whole, and 62% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Surf City scores 798.
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 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 about violent crime in Surf City
Aggravated assaults are less common than the crime level suggests. Violent crime in Surf City runs at about double the US rate, but aggravated assaults run 27% below it: 1.9 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Simple assault stands out among cities graded A for violent crime. For the typical resident of a US city graded A for violent crime, the figure is 5.9 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents; Surf City has 25.4.
Violent crime rates and types in Surf City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Surf City has about 28 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and 95% more than North Carolina.
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 Surf City, about 98% 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.
Violent crime in Surf City and nearby cities
Surf City has more violent crime than 4 of its 5 nearest cities. Hampstead and Holly Ridge have the least violent crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Surf City. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Surf City has more violent crime than 95% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Surf City apart: it has 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (8 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 91% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Surf City: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 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 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.42 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 51% 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 violent crime costs Surf City
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Surf City about $5.6 million a year, or $1,032 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $1.8 million, or $325 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 68% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$300,000
$56
Rape
$140,000
$26
Robbery
$30,000
$5
Assault
$1.3 million
$239
Total
$1.8 million
$325
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.
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.
