Photo: rjones0856 from USA · CC BY 2.0North Topsail Beach has less violence than most U.S. towns, but more property crime
Its Safety Grade, C+, rests on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025: more crime per resident than 61% of U.S. towns. Behind the grade sit 0.3 violent crime and 21.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 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 North Topsail Beach
North Topsail Beach reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 2 North Carolina towns on North Topsail Beach’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Surf City (C). Sneads Ferry is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind North Topsail Beach’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds North Topsail Beach’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | North Topsail Beach | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.0 | 5.3 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
North Topsail Beach’s police reported 1 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of North Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in North Topsail Beach 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 no violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | North Topsail Beach property | Rest of North Carolina property | North Topsail Beach violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 23.0 | 28.9 | 1.0 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 27.7 | 29.6 | 1.0 | 5.5 |
| 2024 | 14.7 | 28.8 | 0.0 | 5.3 |
| 2025 | 23.6 | 25.2 | 0.0 | 4.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of North Carolina.
26 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.
0 violent and 26 property, as reported to the FBI by North Topsail Beach’s police.
One person died in crashes on North Topsail Beach’s roads in 2019–2023
North Topsail Beach had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for North Carolina towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (7.4 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of North Topsail Beach’s size would see about 0 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so North Topsail Beach’s own rate (25.5) 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.
North Topsail Beach and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Topsail Beach | C+ | 0.3 | 21.9 |
| Sneads Ferry | — | — | — |
| Surf City | C | 3.4 | 17.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Sneads Ferry 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Topsail Beach | C+ | 0.3 | 21.9 |
| Banner Elk | A | 0.3 | 4.0 |
| Columbus | B | 0.3 | 14.7 |
| Blowing Rock | C | 1.0 | 22.4 |
| Beulaville | D | 5.5 | 43.2 |
| West Jefferson | D | 1.0 | 61.9 |
The five graded North Carolina towns closest to North Topsail Beach’s population (1,097), 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 North Topsail Beach. 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 North Topsail Beach’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (1,100 in 2025); our figure for North Topsail Beach is 1,097 (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 North Topsail Beach
Is North Topsail Beach, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, North Topsail Beach reports more crime per resident than 61% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade. Its police reported 0.3 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 North Topsail Beach?
0.3 violent and 21.9 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 North Topsail Beach safer than Surf City?
Surf City reports more crime per resident than North Topsail Beach: Surf City grades C for safety and North Topsail Beach C+. Surf City’s police reported 3.4 violent and 17.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices North Topsail Beach?
North Topsail Beach’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “North Topsail Beach”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in North Topsail Beach.
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.