Photo: Washuotaku · CC BY-SA 3.0In Bessemer City, the kinds of crime the grade counts rose 68% per resident from 2023 to 2025
Overall, it grades C for safety (#49 of 163 graded towns in North Carolina). Annual rates stand at 3.4 violent crimes and 12.7 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 5.0 and 27.9 in the rest of North Carolina.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of NC” is every other North Carolina city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Bessemer City
Bessemer City reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 1 North Carolina towns on Bessemer City’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Gastonia (D−). Neighbors ↓
Among North Carolina towns, closer to the middle
North Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Bessemer City’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 70% of the 163 North Carolina towns we grade, against 34% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Reported crime is rising
Crime reported per resident rose from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Bessemer City’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (3.4) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (12.7) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Bessemer City property | Rest of North Carolina property | Bessemer City violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 13.6 | 28.9 | 3.1 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 8.2 | 29.7 | 2.5 | 5.5 |
| 2024 | 15.0 | 28.8 | 4.6 | 5.3 |
| 2025 | 14.8 | 25.2 | 3.1 | 4.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident rose from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of North Carolina.
Crime in Bessemer City per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Bessemer City | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.1 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Bessemer City’s police reported 58 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of North Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
104 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total. 2025 figures come from FBI Crime Data Explorer, which publishes violent crime, homicides, robberies and property crime only.
18 violent and 86 property, as reported to the FBI by Bessemer City’s police.
One person died in crashes on Bessemer City’s roads in 2019–2023
Bessemer City had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for North Carolina towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (7.4 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Bessemer City’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Bessemer City’s own rate (3.6) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Bessemer City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bessemer City | C | 3.4 | 12.7 |
| Gastonia | D− | 8.4 | 33.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
North Carolina towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bessemer City | C | 3.4 | 12.7 |
| Whispering Pines | A+ | 0.1 | 2.7 |
| Holly Ridge | A− | 0.6 | 6.5 |
| Cramerton | B− | 1.0 | 13.5 |
| Dallas | C+ | 1.9 | 17.8 |
| Shallotte | D | 2.9 | 44.4 |
The five graded North Carolina towns closest to Bessemer City’s population (5,834), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Bessemer City. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Bessemer City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (5,802 in 2025); our figure for Bessemer City is 5,834 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Bessemer City
Is Bessemer City, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Bessemer City reports more crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #49 of 163 in North Carolina. Its police reported 3.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of North Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Bessemer City?
3.4 violent and 12.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Carolina reports 5.0 and 27.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Bessemer City safer than Gastonia?
Gastonia reports more crime per resident than Bessemer City: Gastonia grades D− for safety and Bessemer City C. Gastonia’s police reported 8.4 violent and 33.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Bessemer City?
Bessemer City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Bessemer City Police Department”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Bessemer City.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.