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.
To find the cities in North Carolina with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 63 cities in the Tar Heel State with over 5,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In North Carolina
What city has the highest murder rate in North Carolina? The city with the highest murder rate in North Carolina is Bessemer City with 88.0 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 109 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in North Carolina ranked. There were ‘only’ 63 cities in North Carolina where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 46 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
The 10 Murder Capitals Of North Carolina For 2026
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Population: 5,685
Murders: 5 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 88.0 (Most)
More on Bessemer City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 14,994
Murders: 9 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 60.0 (2nd Most)
More on Laurinburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 8,786
Murders: 5 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 56.9 (3rd Most)
More on Rockingham: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 19,087
Murders: 10 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 52.4 (4th Most)
More on Lumberton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 33,444
Murders: 15 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 44.9 (5th Most)
More on Goldsboro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 9,616
Murders: 4 (24th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 41.6 (6th Most)
More on Washington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
7. Ayden
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Population: 5,126
Murders: 2 (39th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 39.0 (7th Most)
More on Ayden: Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 8,633
Murders: 3 (3Most)
Murders Per 100k: 34.8 (8th Most)
More on Dunn: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,342
Murders: 2 (39th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 31.5 (9th Most)
More on Cherryville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 36,564
Murders: 11 (10th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 30.1 (10th Most)
More on Salisbury: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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 wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare 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 in each city annually.
We only looked at 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 63 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Bessemer City. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in North Carolina. We updated the list for 2026.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In North Carolina For 2026
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.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in North Carolina are Bessemer City, Laurinburg, Rockingham, Lumberton, Goldsboro, Washington, Ayden, Dunn, Cherryville, and Salisbury.
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
Murder Rates By City In North Carolina
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bessemer City, NC | 5685 | 5 | 87.95 |
| 2 | Laurinburg, NC | 14994 | 9 | 60.02 |
| 3 | Rockingham, NC | 8786 | 5 | 56.91 |
| 4 | Lumberton, NC | 19087 | 10 | 52.39 |
| 5 | Goldsboro, NC | 33444 | 15 | 44.85 |
| 6 | Washington, NC | 9616 | 4 | 41.6 |
| 7 | Ayden, NC | 5126 | 2 | 39.02 |
| 8 | Dunn, NC | 8633 | 3 | 34.75 |
| 9 | Cherryville, NC | 6342 | 2 | 31.54 |
| 10 | Salisbury, NC | 36564 | 11 | 30.08 |
| 11 | Henderson, NC | 14791 | 4 | 27.04 |
| 12 | Wilson, NC | 47825 | 12 | 25.09 |
| 13 | Shelby, NC | 22028 | 5 | 22.7 |
| 14 | Kinston, NC | 19298 | 4 | 20.73 |
| 15 | Hillsborough, NC | 9788 | 2 | 20.43 |
| 16 | Waynesville, NC | 10813 | 2 | 18.5 |
| 17 | Tarboro, NC | 10920 | 2 | 18.32 |
| 18 | Thomasville, NC | 27525 | 5 | 18.17 |
| 19 | Kings Mountain, NC | 12045 | 2 | 16.6 |
| 20 | Dallas, NC | 6225 | 1 | 16.06 |
| 21 | Graham, NC | 18772 | 3 | 15.98 |
| 22 | Elizabeth City, NC | 19064 | 3 | 15.74 |
| 23 | Lexington, NC | 19899 | 3 | 15.08 |
| 24 | Carolina Beach, NC | 6917 | 1 | 14.46 |
| 25 | Greensboro, NC | 304306 | 43 | 14.13 |
| 26 | Rocky Mount, NC | 54223 | 7 | 12.91 |
| 27 | Asheville, NC | 95219 | 12 | 12.6 |
| 28 | Fayetteville, NC | 209945 | 26 | 12.38 |
| 29 | Durham, NC | 300208 | 37 | 12.32 |
| 30 | New Bern, NC | 32548 | 4 | 12.29 |
| 31 | Fletcher, NC | 8219 | 1 | 12.17 |
| 32 | Roxboro, NC | 8235 | 1 | 12.14 |
| 33 | Clinton, NC | 8300 | 1 | 12.05 |
| 34 | Winston-Salem, NC | 254041 | 29 | 11.42 |
| 35 | Oxford, NC | 9032 | 1 | 11.07 |
| 36 | Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC | 1003130 | 109 | 10.87 |
| 37 | Greenville, NC | 90871 | 9 | 9.9 |
| 38 | Kannapolis, NC | 60725 | 6 | 9.88 |
| 39 | Zebulon, NC | 10356 | 1 | 9.66 |
| 40 | Mount Airy, NC | 10590 | 1 | 9.44 |
| 41 | Smithfield, NC | 12852 | 1 | 7.78 |
| 42 | Monroe, NC | 38903 | 3 | 7.71 |
| 43 | Newton, NC | 13479 | 1 | 7.42 |
| 44 | Kernersville, NC | 28522 | 2 | 7.01 |
| 45 | Roanoke Rapids, NC | 14497 | 1 | 6.9 |
| 46 | Burlington, NC | 60906 | 4 | 6.57 |
| 47 | Hendersonville, NC | 15561 | 1 | 6.43 |
| 48 | Wilmington, NC | 125101 | 7 | 5.6 |
| 49 | Mount Holly, NC | 18581 | 1 | 5.38 |
| 50 | Concord, NC | 111922 | 6 | 5.36 |
| 51 | Raleigh, NC | 488085 | 25 | 5.12 |
| 52 | Carrboro, NC | 21045 | 1 | 4.75 |
| 53 | Gastonia, NC | 85112 | 4 | 4.7 |
| 54 | Mooresville, NC | 54823 | 2 | 3.65 |
| 55 | Wake Forest, NC | 55872 | 2 | 3.58 |
| 56 | Morrisville, NC | 32336 | 1 | 3.09 |
| 57 | Cornelius, NC | 33699 | 1 | 2.97 |
| 58 | Garner, NC | 36720 | 1 | 2.72 |
| 59 | High Point, NC | 117629 | 3 | 2.55 |
| 60 | Hickory, NC | 44682 | 1 | 2.24 |
| 61 | Cary, NC | 181793 | 3 | 1.65 |
| 62 | Chapel Hill, NC | 63906 | 1 | 1.56 |
| 63 | Huntersville, NC | 65752 | 1 | 1.52 |
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.