Photo: Precisionviews · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Charlotte runs higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Typical years here bring 6.7 violent crimes plus 36.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 4.7 plus 26.1 in the rest of North Carolina. Add to that, 4 of the 5 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Graded on crimes Charlotte’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores D for safety: #132 of 163 graded towns in North Carolina, and #266 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 13% from 2023 to 2025.
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 Charlotte
4 of the 5 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 North Carolina towns on Charlotte’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Mint Hill (B+), Concord (B), Huntersville (B−), Matthews (C−), Pineville (D−). Marvin, Weddington and Harrisburg have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among North Carolina towns, closer to the middle
North Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Charlotte’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 19% of the 163 North Carolina towns we grade, against 5% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Charlotte’s police reported 93 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 9.7 per 100,000 residents a year, above the rest of North Carolina (8.7) and 1.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 1.7 times the rest of North Carolina
117 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (979 reported in 2025), 1.7 times the rest of North Carolina (71.2) and above all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Charlotte reports less crime per resident than 18% (#266). Places like it ↓
A job center
Charlotte has 667,200 jobs based in town for 964,784 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell 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 Charlotte’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Crime in Charlotte 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 6 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Charlotte property | Rest of North Carolina property | Charlotte violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 33.7 | 27.9 | 7.5 | 5.4 |
| 2023 | 38.4 | 27.8 | 7.3 | 5.1 |
| 2024 | 37.1 | 27.1 | 7.3 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 34.1 | 23.3 | 5.6 | 4.1 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of North Carolina.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Charlotte | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 9.4 | 10.1 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 10.9 | 8.7 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 9.0 | 7.4 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Charlotte | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 145 | 81.8 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 128 | 78.0 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 130 | 74.7 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 94.6 | 60.9 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Charlotte’s police reported 93 homicides, 979 robberies and 5,787 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of North Carolina and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
41,052 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.
5,787 violent and 35,265 property, as reported to the FBI by Charlotte’s police.
123 of the 434 people who died in crashes on Charlotte’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Charlotte had 403 fatal crashes in five years, in which 434 people died. 6 of those killed were cyclists. 102 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 9.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for North Carolina towns of 100,000+ people (8.8, 10 towns).
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Charlotte has the 17th lowest rate.
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.
Charlotte and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | D | 6.7 | 36.5 |
| Matthews | C− | 1.7 | 26.3 |
| Pineville | D− | 7.2 | 82.9 |
| Mint Hill | B+ | 0.9 | 9.4 |
| Marvin | — | — | — |
| Weddington | — | — | — |
| Huntersville | B− | 1.5 | 13.0 |
| Harrisburg | — | — | — |
| Concord | B | 1.3 | 10.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Marvin, Weddington and Harrisburg have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
North Carolina towns of a similar size
The five graded North Carolina towns closest to Charlotte’s population (964,784), 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 Charlotte. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Charlotte’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (1,035,037 in 2025); our figure for Charlotte is 964,784 (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 Charlotte
Is Charlotte, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Charlotte reports more crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #132 of 163 in North Carolina. Its police reported 6.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.7 in the rest of North Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Charlotte?
6.7 violent and 36.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Carolina reports 4.7 and 26.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Charlotte in 2025?
Charlotte’s police reported 93 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 9.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Charlotte safer than Matthews?
Matthews reports less crime per resident than Charlotte: Matthews grades C− for safety and Charlotte D. Matthews’s police reported 1.7 violent and 26.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Charlotte?
Charlotte’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Charlotte-Mecklenburg”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Charlotte.
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.