Wake County, NC Violent Crime Rates and Maps

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	B
Property Crime Grade	C-
Other Crime Grade	C+

Which crimes are included?

$239.9 million

Cost of Crime™ for Wake County, NC

In 2025, violent crime will cost $525 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Wake County with the least violent crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Violent crime concentrates where people gather after dark, near nightlife, bars, and transit, more than on residential streets. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read those hot spots.

The B grade reflects how often assault, robbery, rape, and murder occur in Wake County against the average US county, where the rate is slightly lower than the norm. Wake County sits in the 66th percentile for violent-crime safety, ahead of 66% of counties and behind 34%. The grade covers only Wake County's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby counties.

The violent crime rate in Wake County is 2.966 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the west part of the county the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 168 in the central areas to 1 in 605 in the west.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Wake County, NC report the most violent crime, about 755 cases per year. The northwest part reports the fewest, around 103 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Wake County, NC

The tangible cost of violent crime in Wake County is projected at $239,917,427 for 2025, about $200 per resident and $525 per household. That equals 0.4% of the median household income, and it counts only the bills that can be totaled: emergency care, lost wages, and the justice response. The larger cost, the harm to victims, comes later on this page. These tangible costs split into:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 42.1%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 44.2%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 13.7%

How Much Does Violent Crime Cost in Wake County Compared to Other Counties?

Wake County, NC:	$200
Cumberland County, NC:	$448
Henderson County, NC:	$193
North Carolina:	$297
USA:	$258

The tangible cost of violent crime is $200 per resident each year in Wake County, which is $58 less than the national average and $97 less than North Carolina's state average. The comparison below uses counties similar to Wake County:

In Cumberland County, NC, crime costs $448 per person, which is $248 more than in Wake County.
In Henderson County, NC, crime costs $193 per person, which is $7 less than in Wake County

2025 Projected Violent Crime Cost by Type

The table below breaks the violent-crime total into its four offenses for Wake County, with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Wake County	Cost per Wake County Resident
Murder	$118.4 million	$99
Rape/Sexual Assault	$37.5 million	$31
Robbery	$16.4 million	$14
Assault	$67.7 million	$56
Total Cost of Violent Crime	$239,917,427	$200

The Human Cost of Violent Crime in Wake County, NC

Much of what violent crime costs never reaches a bill. Pain, trauma, and lost quality of life for victims and their families typically outweigh the medical and legal totals above. Research-based methods put a figure on that harm so it can be compared across places. By those methods, the human cost of violent crime in Wake County totals $989,341,987 ($825 per resident). Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $1,229,259,415 ($1,025 per resident). This human toll is what sets violent crime apart from property crime in Wake County, NC, where the loss is mostly replaceable property. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Violent Crime Maps

Violent crime rates are measured per resident, so places packed with visitors after dark read high even when few people live there. Bars, clubs, event venues, and transit hubs draw the crowds where assaults and robberies cluster. How strongly this shows on the map depends on the commercial base; the north part of the county has more retail establishments. A red block full of bars and venues does not mean the homes around it are dangerous.

Transit stations show the same effect: large moving crowds, few residents, so per-capita violent crime reads high. Major airports, of which Wake County has 1, are the extreme case. Before judging a residential street, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total count of incidents, and note what draws crowds nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Wake County, NC at ISP Reports.

Wake County Violent Crime Breakdown

The table below shows which offenses feed the Violent Crime Grade above, each as crimes per 1,000 Wake County residents in a standard year.

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	1.965
Robbery	0.4341
Rape	0.5151
Murder	0.0525
Total Violent Crime	2.966 (B)

Individual Wake County Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Counties

Compared to surrounding counties, the rate of violent crime in Wake County is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for counties close to Wake County.

Nearby County	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Durham County, NC	D-	D+	D-
Johnston County, NC	B+	B	A-
Franklin County, NC	B-	B-	B-
Orange County, NC	C-	C+	D+
Granville County, NC	C+	C	C+
Chatham County, NC	B-	B	B-
Harnett County, NC	B-	B	B-
Lee County, NC	C-	C-	D+
Wilson County, NC	C-	C-	D+
Nash County, NC	D	D-	D

Crime Maps and Rates for County with Similar Populations

Wake County is lower versus other counties of the same size for violent crime. The table below compares crime in counties with comparable overall population in the county‘s boundaries.

Similar County	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Adams County, CO	D-	D+	D+
Bexar County, TX	D+	C	C
Bronx County, NY	B-	C-	C-
Broward County, FL	A-	B	B
Cumberland County, NC	D-	D-	D-
Tarrant County, TX	C-	C	C
Alameda County, CA	C	D+	D+
Ada County, ID	A	A-	A-
Rensselaer County, NY	A	B	B
Multnomah County, OR	F	D+	D+

Considering only the violent crime rate, Wake County is safer than the North Carolina state average and safer than the national average.

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