Surry County is home to 71,400 residents and includes Mount Airy and Elkin · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Surry County?
Surry County earns an A for violent crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Assaults make up 90% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 893 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
60% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Surry County as a whole, and 40% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Surry County scores 893.
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 Surry County, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Surry 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 about violent crime in Surry County
Aggravated assaults and simple assaults both run low. In Surry County, each runs at about half the US rate: 1.3 aggravated assaults and 4.8 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 9.7 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Surry County
Every part of Surry County where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Surry County run from A+ to B.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Surry County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Violent crime rates and types in Surry County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Surry County has about 6.7 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 50% less than the US as a whole and 53% less 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 Surry County, about 90% 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 Surry County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Surry County, 2022 to 2024.
In Surry County, 62% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Aggravated assault
Homes (62%)
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 Surry County and nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Surry County, 7 have less violent crime. Carroll County, VA and Grayson County, VA have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Surry County. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Surry County has more violent crime than 69% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Surry County apart: it has 0% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. 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.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Surry County: F (0 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 66% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.40 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 61% 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 violent crime costs Surry County
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Surry County about $135 million a year, or $1,894 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $22 million, or $315 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 83% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$15 million
$215
Rape
$1.8 million
$25
Robbery
$300,000
$4
Assault
$5.0 million
$71
Total
$22 million
$315
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.
