Photo: Jdcollins13 · CC BY-SA 4.0The nearest town with a Safety Grade to Sneads Ferry is North Topsail Beach, 6 miles away
Within 10 miles, North Topsail Beach is the one town with a Safety Grade. Sneads Ferry has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Onslow County. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Sneads Ferry alone, and no Safety Grade. Widen the search to 25 miles and 7 graded towns turn up.
What stands out about safety in Sneads Ferry
Policed by the county
Sneads Ferry is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Sneads Ferry. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest North Carolina towns with their own police figures are North Topsail Beach (C+, 6 mi), Holly Ridge (A−, 11 mi), Surf City (C, 12 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Sneads Ferry. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Onslow County without police of their own, which include Sneads Ferry.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest North Carolina towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Topsail Beach | C+ | 6 mi | 0.3 | 21.9 |
| Holly Ridge | A− | 11 mi | 0.6 | 6.5 |
| Surf City | C | 12 mi | 3.4 | 17.1 |
| Jacksonville | C | 12 mi | 2.5 | 18.6 |
| Swansboro | C+ | 16 mi | 0.7 | 21.1 |
| Cape Carteret | A− | 20 mi | 0.7 | 5.4 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Sneads Ferry. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Sneads Ferry.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Two people died in crashes on Sneads Ferry’s roads in 2019–2023
Sneads Ferry had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died; 1 was a cyclist.
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 Sneads Ferry’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Sneads Ferry’s own rate (14.7) 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.
Sneads Ferry and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Topsail Beach | C+ | 0.3 | 21.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
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 Sneads Ferry
Is Sneads Ferry, NC safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Sneads Ferry. The nearest North Carolina towns with a grade are North Topsail Beach (C+, 6 mi), Holly Ridge (A−, 11 mi), Surf City (C, 12 mi).
Who polices Sneads Ferry?
The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office. Sneads Ferry is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Onslow County without police of their own.
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 Sneads Ferry.
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.