Photo: NatalieMaynor · CC BY 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Wilkesboro than in 93% of U.S. towns
It has more violent crime than 77% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 97%. Add to that, the Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crimes Wilkesboro’s police reported through 2023 to 2025: #120 of 163 graded towns in North Carolina. Behind the grade sit 3.4 violent crimes and 44.9 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 Wilkesboro
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 3 North Carolina towns on Wilkesboro’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: North Wilkesboro (C−). Moravian Falls and Cricket are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
Among North Carolina towns, closer to the middle
North Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Wilkesboro’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 26% of the 163 North Carolina towns we grade, against 7% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Wilkesboro is home to Wilkes Community College, with 1,673 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 2% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
Wilkesboro has 9,050 jobs based in town for 3,618 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Wilkesboro’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. 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.
Crime in Wilkesboro 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 | Wilkesboro | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.7 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Wilkesboro’s police reported 37 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 | Wilkesboro property | Rest of North Carolina property | Wilkesboro violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 52.4 | 28.9 | 4.8 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 36.8 | 29.6 | 2.7 | 5.5 |
| 2024 | 52.6 | 28.8 | 3.6 | 5.3 |
| 2025 | 45.2 | 25.2 | 3.9 | 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.
177 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.
14 violent and 163 property, as reported to the FBI by Wilkesboro’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on Wilkesboro’s roads in 2019–2023
Wilkesboro had 6 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 2 were pedestrians.
That is more than 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 Wilkesboro’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Wilkesboro’s own rate (38.4) 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.
Wilkesboro and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkesboro | D | 3.4 | 44.9 |
| Moravian Falls | — | — | — |
| Cricket | — | — | — |
| North Wilkesboro | C− | 2.4 | 24.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Moravian Falls and Cricket are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
North Carolina towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkesboro | D | 3.4 | 44.9 |
| Kitty Hawk | C+ | 2.1 | 16.8 |
| Windsor | C | 4.0 | 11.5 |
| Rutherfordton | C− | 2.4 | 32.2 |
| Wallace | D | 4.1 | 39.0 |
| Louisburg | D− | 5.6 | 52.8 |
The five graded North Carolina towns closest to Wilkesboro’s population (3,618), 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 Wilkesboro. 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 Wilkesboro’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (3,607 in 2025); our figure for Wilkesboro is 3,618 (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 Wilkesboro
Is Wilkesboro, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Wilkesboro reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #120 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 Wilkesboro?
3.4 violent and 44.9 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 Wilkesboro safer than North Wilkesboro?
North Wilkesboro reports less crime per resident than Wilkesboro: North Wilkesboro grades C− for safety and Wilkesboro D. North Wilkesboro’s police reported 2.4 violent and 24.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Wilkesboro?
Wilkesboro’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Wilkesboro”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Wilkesboro.
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.