Do you live in one of the murder capitals of North Carolina?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in North Carolina.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Tar Heel State for 2023:
What city has the highest murder rate in North Carolina? The city with the highest murder rate in North Carolina is Rockingham with 130.6 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in North Carolina with highest number of murders? The city in North Carolina with the highest number of murders is Charlotte-Mecklenburg with 98 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in North Carolina ranked. There were ‘only’ 76 cities in North Carolina where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 39 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Tar Heel State check out:
- Best Places To Live In North Carolina
- Cheapest Places To Live In North Carolina
- Most Dangerous Cities In North Carolina
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of North Carolina For 2023
/10
Population: 8,424
Rank Last Year: 14
Murders: 11 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 130.6 (Most)
More on Rockingham: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 33,856
Rank Last Year: 11
Murders: 13 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 38.4 (7th Most)
More on Salisbury: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 14,798
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 10 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 67.6 (3rd Most)
More on Laurinburg: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 212,047
Rank Last Year: 7
Murders: 47 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.2 (17th Most)
More on Fayetteville: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 26,082
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 8 (15th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 30.7 (9th Most)
More on Asheboro: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 17,948
Rank Last Year: 17
Murders: 7 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 39.0 (6th Most)
More on Elizabeth City: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 53,305
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 12 (10th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.5 (16th Most)
More on Rocky Mount: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 300,865
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 51 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 17.0 (29th Most)
More on Greensboro: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 5,270
Rank Last Year: 98
Murders: 4 (29th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 75.9 (2nd Most)
More on Erwin: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 29,985
Rank Last Year: 28
Murders: 7 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 23.3 (13th Most)
More on New Bern: Data | Cost Of Living
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of North Carolina
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in North Carolina for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 76 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in North Carolina and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In North Carolina For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in North Carolina with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
For more North Carolina reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In North Carolina
- Fastest Growing Cities In North Carolina
- Safest Cities in North Carolina
- Best Cities For Singles In North Carolina
- Worst Places To Live In North Carolina
Monroe has more then 1 murder, just 2 of my friends got killed this year. there’s been at least 5 or 6 people killed
Why is Raleigh not listed?
Winston Salem reports a number of murders according to the news, yet I couldn’t find mention of their apparent problem.