Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0What is recorded in Mills River, and why there is no grade
Mills River has no FBI crime figures of its own for 2023–2025, so there is nothing to grade it on. Drive 10 miles in any direction and you reach 2 towns with grades of their own. The nearest town with a Safety Grade is Fletcher, 6 miles away, graded B.
The nearest North Carolina towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fletcher | B | 6 mi | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| Hendersonville | C− | 8 mi | 3.0 | 29.5 |
| Biltmore Forest | A− | 11 mi | 0.2 | 6.4 |
| Brevard | B− | 12 mi | 1.6 | 11.1 |
| Asheville | D− | 13 mi | 8.0 | 42.6 |
| Woodfin | B− | 18 mi | 2.1 | 10.2 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Mills River. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Mills River.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Four people died in crashes on Mills River’s roads in 2019–2023
Mills River had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people 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 Mills River’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Mills River’s own rate (11.0) 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.
Mills River and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etowah | — | — | — |
| Horse Shoe | — | — | — |
| Fletcher | B | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| Asheville | D− | 8.0 | 42.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Etowah and Horse Shoe are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
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.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- 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 Mills River
Is Mills River, NC safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Mills River. The nearest North Carolina towns with a grade are Fletcher (B, 6 mi), Hendersonville (C−, 8 mi), Biltmore Forest (A−, 11 mi).
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Mills River.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 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.