Wake Forest is a town of 81,000 in Wake County, about 15 miles northeast of downtown Raleigh · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Wake Forest?
Wake Forest earns an A for violent crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Assaults make up 97% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 897 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Wake Forest as a whole, and 39% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Wake Forest scores 897.
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 Wake Forest, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wake Forest, 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 Wake Forest
Aggravated assaults run high in Holding Village. In this part of central Wake Forest, they run at about double the rate in the rest of Wake Forest.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Wake Forest
Every part of Wake Forest where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Wake Forest run from A+ to B-.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Heritage South, southeastSimple assaults run at about half the rate in the rest of Wake Forest.A+941
2Bowling Green, Heritage North & Ammons Reservoir, eastClose to the rest of Wake Forest on most crimes.A893
3North, southwestSimple assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Wake Forest.A859
4Holding Village, centralSimple assaults run at about double the rate in the rest of Wake Forest.A-788
Neighborhood areas of Wake Forest, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Violent crime rates and types in Wake Forest
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wake Forest 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 Wake Forest, about 97% 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 Wake Forest
Wake Forest has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Wake Forest, 56% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Aggravated assault
Homes (56%)
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.
Violent crime in Wake Forest and nearby cities
Wake Forest has less violent crime than 4 of its 7 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Wake Forest. 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, Wake Forest is safer than 69% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Wake Forest apart: it has a Walk Grade of D- (9 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 27 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less assault; here assault sits near the national middle.
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. 91% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 79% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.27 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 76% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.6% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 70% of US city residents
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Wake Forest: F (2 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 54% 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 Wake Forest
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Wake Forest about $41 million a year, or $505 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $9.3 million, or $115 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 77% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.9 million
$36
Rape
$400,000
$5
Robbery
$190,000
$2
Assault
$5.8 million
$72
Total
$9.3 million
$115
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. Wake Forest is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower 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
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.
