Photo: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.0On violent crime, Surf City has a higher rate per resident than 77% of U.S. towns
On the record of crimes Surf City’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C for safety: #68 of 163 graded towns in North Carolina. Police counts work out at 3.4 violent crimes and 17.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the rest of North Carolina they are 5.0 and 27.9.
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 Surf City
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 1 North Carolina towns on Surf City’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: North Topsail Beach (C+). Neighbors ↓
Among North Carolina towns, closer to the middle
North Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Surf City’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 58% of the 163 North Carolina towns we grade, against 26% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Surf City’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; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (3.4) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (17.1) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Crime in Surf City 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 about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Surf City | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Surf City’s police reported 52 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of North Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Surf City property | Rest of North Carolina property | Surf City violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 19.4 | 28.9 | 3.0 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 16.8 | 29.6 | 2.9 | 5.5 |
| 2024 | 17.8 | 28.8 | 2.9 | 5.3 |
| 2025 | 16.7 | 25.2 | 4.4 | 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.
111 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.
23 violent and 88 property, as reported to the FBI by Surf City’s police.
Two people died in crashes on Surf City’s roads in 2019–2023
Surf City had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which two people 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 Surf City’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Surf City’s own rate (9.1) 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.
Surf City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surf City | C | 3.4 | 17.1 |
| North Topsail Beach | C+ | 0.3 | 21.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
North Carolina towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surf City | C | 3.4 | 17.1 |
| Creedmoor | C+ | 2.4 | 12.1 |
| Pittsboro | C− | 2.0 | 24.4 |
| Lillington | C− | 4.0 | 20.5 |
| Williamston | D− | 12.2 | 65.2 |
| Wadesboro | D− | 19.8 | 70.1 |
The five graded North Carolina towns closest to Surf City’s population (5,142), 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 Surf City. 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 Surf City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (5,272 in 2025); our figure for Surf City is 5,142 (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 Surf City
Is Surf City, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Surf City reports more crime per resident than 74% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #68 of 163 in North Carolina. Its police reported 3.4 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 Surf City?
3.4 violent and 17.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Carolina reports 5.0 and 27.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Surf City safer than North Topsail Beach?
North Topsail Beach reports less crime per resident than Surf City: North Topsail Beach grades C+ for safety and Surf City C. North Topsail Beach’s police reported 0.3 violent and 21.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Surf City?
Surf City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Surf City”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
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 Surf City.
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.