Wilson is a city of 56,200 in Wilson County, about 16 miles southwest of downtown Rocky Mount · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Wilson?
Violent crime is high in Wilson: a C+, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 85% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
C+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 522 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
15% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Wilson as a whole, and 85% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Wilson scores 522.
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 Wilson, NC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wilson, 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 Wilson
Robbery is a strength. Wilson grades C+ for violent crime, but robbery grades A.
Murder runs high. Wilson has about 12 murders a year, a rate more than triple the national one.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Wilson
Violent crime changes a lot from one part of Wilson to the next: 56% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 30% live in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Wilson run from A+ to F.
56%14%30%
A or B 56%C 14%D or F 30%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is violent crime going up in Wilson?
Reported violent crime in Wilson has risen 26% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.5 to 5.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
WilsonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Wilson. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Wilson
Violent, US
2016
+17%
+4%
2017
+44%
+4%
2018
+14%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+24%
+4%
2021
+35%
+6%
2022
+13%
+5%
2023
+13%
+2%
2024
+26%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Wilson
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wilson has about 14 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to 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 Wilson, about 93% 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 Wilson
Wilson has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Wilson, 56% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 40% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (56%)
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 Wilson and nearby cities
Wilson has the most violent crime of its 4 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Wilson apart: it has 3% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery, yet robbery runs higher here than that would suggest.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Wilson: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.3% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 83% 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. 84% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 61% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.59 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 74% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Wilson on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Wilson
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Wilson about $207 million a year, or $3,675 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $35 million, or $619 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
$23 million
$404
Rape
$840,000
$15
Robbery
$970,000
$17
Assault
$10 million
$183
Total
$35 million
$619
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.
