Photo: Kharris0317 · CC BY-SA 4.0Salisbury reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Salisbury’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety: #143 of 163 graded towns in 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 Salisbury
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 North Carolina towns on Salisbury’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Granite Quarry (B−), Spencer (C). East Spencer reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 2025. Neighbors ↓
A job center
Salisbury has 27,622 jobs based in town for 36,879 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 Salisbury’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.
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 | Salisbury property | Rest of North Carolina property | Salisbury violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 36.6 | 28.8 | 8.8 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 41.1 | 29.6 | 9.7 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 39.9 | 28.8 | 9.6 | 5.3 |
| 2025 | 35.4 | 25.2 | 5.9 | 4.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Violent crime, by year and by type
Salisbury’s police reported 918 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 8.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of North Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Salisbury | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8.8 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 9.7 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 9.6 | 5.3 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 35 property crimes reported
And about 6 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.
1,523 crimes reported in 2025
217 violent and 1,306 property, as reported to the FBI by Salisbury’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
23 people died in crashes on Salisbury’s roads in 2019–2023
Salisbury had 22 fatal crashes in five years, in which 23 people died; 5 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 2 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 12.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for North Carolina towns of 25,000–100,000 people (7.9, 33 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.
Salisbury and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | D− | 8.4 | 38.8 |
| Spencer | C | 3.1 | 15.3 |
| East Spencer | — | — | — |
| Granite Quarry | B− | 1.6 | 10.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. East Spencer reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 2025.
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 Salisbury. 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 Salisbury’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (36,900 in 2025); our figure for Salisbury is 36,879 (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 Salisbury
Is Salisbury, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Salisbury reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #143 of 163 in North Carolina. Its police reported 8.4 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 Salisbury?
8.4 violent and 38.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Carolina reports 5.0 and 27.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Salisbury?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Salisbury in 2025?
Salisbury’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 10.8 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Salisbury safer than Spencer?
Spencer reports less crime per resident than Salisbury: Spencer grades C for safety and Salisbury D−. Spencer’s police reported 3.1 violent and 15.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Salisbury?
Salisbury’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Salisbury”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Salisbury.
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.