Photo: Maria Miracoli · CC BY-SA 4.0Durham reports more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Durham’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #128 of 163 graded towns in North Carolina, and #254 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
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 Durham
4 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 North Carolina towns on Durham’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Cary (B), Chapel Hill (C), Morrisville (C), Raleigh (D). Gorman is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Among North Carolina towns, closer to the middle
North Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Durham’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 21% of the 163 North Carolina towns we grade, against 6% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Durham’s police reported 34 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 12.8 per 100,000 residents a year, above the rest of North Carolina (8.7) and 2.3 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 2.1 times the rest of North Carolina
158 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (443 reported in 2025), 2.1 times the rest of North Carolina (74.9) and 2.0 times 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, Durham reports less crime per resident than 22% (#254). Places like it ↓
A job center
Durham has 194,798 jobs based in town for 305,561 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 Durham’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.
Homicides and robberies
Durham’s police reported 34 homicides, 443 robberies and 1,556 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.
Show as a table
| Year | Durham | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14.7 | 10.2 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 15.2 | 9.7 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 12.3 | 8.9 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 11.1 | 7.5 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Durham | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 205 | 86.5 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 168 | 82.2 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 161 | 80.3 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 144 | 62.6 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 36 property crimes reported
And about 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
Reported crime is falling
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.
Show as a table
| Year | Durham property | Rest of North Carolina property | Durham violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 33.2 | 28.6 | 6.9 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 37.6 | 29.2 | 6.4 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 38.0 | 28.3 | 6.2 | 5.2 |
| 2025 | 35.8 | 24.6 | 5.1 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
12,558 crimes reported in 2025
1,556 violent and 11,002 property, as reported to the FBI by Durham’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
110 people died in crashes on Durham’s roads in 2019–2023
Durham had 107 fatal crashes in five years, in which 110 people died; 25 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 15 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 7.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for North Carolina towns of 100,000+ people (8.8, 10 towns).
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.
Durham and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | D | 5.9 | 37.1 |
| Gorman | — | — | — |
| Raleigh | D | 4.7 | 25.6 |
| Chapel Hill | C | 1.4 | 22.9 |
| Morrisville | C | 1.0 | 24.6 |
| Cary | B | 0.8 | 11.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Gorman is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
North Carolina towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | D | 5.9 | 37.1 |
| Fayetteville | D | 7.1 | 29.7 |
| Winston-Salem | D | 8.1 | 29.7 |
| Greensboro | D− | 8.2 | 33.6 |
The five graded North Carolina towns closest to Durham’s population (305,561), by grade.
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 Durham. 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 Durham’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (307,140 in 2025); our figure for Durham is 305,561 (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 Durham
Is Durham, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Durham reports more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #128 of 163 in North Carolina. Its police reported 5.9 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 Durham?
5.9 violent and 37.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Carolina reports 5.0 and 27.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Durham?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Durham in 2025?
Durham’s police reported 34 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 11.1 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Durham safer than Raleigh?
Raleigh reports less crime per resident than Durham: Raleigh grades D for safety and Durham D. Raleigh’s police reported 4.7 violent and 25.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Durham?
Durham’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Durham”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Durham.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.