Bethabara Historic District · Photo: Barber Photo Supply Company, Photographer · Public domainCrime per resident in Winston-Salem runs higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
Violence and property crime split as 8.1 violent crimes and 29.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 4.9 and 27.8 in the rest of North Carolina. It has more violent crime than 96% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 91%. On crimes Winston-Salem’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D for safety: #128 of 163 graded towns in North Carolina, and #260 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Per resident, the graded rate barely moved from 2023 to 2025.
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 Winston-Salem
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 6 North Carolina towns on Winston-Salem’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Kernersville (D). Walkertown, Tobaccoville, Rural Hall, Midway and Clemmons have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among North Carolina towns, closer to the middle
North Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Winston-Salem’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 21% of the 163 North Carolina towns we grade, against 6% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Winston-Salem’s police reported 27 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 12.8 per 100,000 residents a year, above the rest of North Carolina (8.7) and 2.3 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: above the rest of North Carolina
91.5 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (207 reported in 2025), above the rest of North Carolina (78.6) and above all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Winston-Salem reports less crime per resident than 20% (#260). Places like 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 Winston-Salem’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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Winston-Salem | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.9 | 10.4 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 16.7 | 9.6 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 11.4 | 9.0 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 10.5 | 7.6 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Winston-Salem | Rest of North Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 112 | 91.8 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 97.2 | 86.1 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 97.2 | 83.9 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 80.4 | 66.2 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Winston-Salem’s police reported 27 homicides, 207 robberies and 1,910 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of North Carolina and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Crime in Winston-Salem 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 7 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Winston-Salem property | Rest of North Carolina property | Winston-Salem violent | Rest of North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 38.9 | 28.4 | 11.8 | 5.5 |
| 2023 | 30.1 | 29.6 | 8.9 | 5.3 |
| 2024 | 29.2 | 28.8 | 8.1 | 5.2 |
| 2025 | 29.8 | 25.0 | 7.4 | 4.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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.
9,593 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.
1,910 violent and 7,683 property, as reported to the FBI by Winston-Salem’s police.
132 people died in crashes on Winston-Salem’s roads in 2019–2023
Winston-Salem had 123 fatal crashes in five years, in which 132 people died; 25 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 11 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 10.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for North Carolina towns of 100,000+ people (8.8, 10 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.
Winston-Salem and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | D | 8.1 | 29.7 |
| Walkertown | — | — | — |
| Tobaccoville | — | — | — |
| Kernersville | D | 2.5 | 32.0 |
| Rural Hall | — | — | — |
| Midway | — | — | — |
| Clemmons | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Walkertown, Tobaccoville, Rural Hall, Midway and Clemmons have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
North Carolina towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | D | 8.1 | 29.7 |
| Cary | B | 0.8 | 11.7 |
| Raleigh | D | 4.7 | 25.6 |
| Fayetteville | D | 7.1 | 29.7 |
| Durham | D | 5.9 | 37.1 |
| Greensboro | D− | 8.2 | 33.6 |
The five graded North Carolina towns closest to Winston-Salem’s population (257,271), 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 Winston-Salem. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Winston-Salem’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (257,431 in 2025); our figure for Winston-Salem is 257,271 (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 Winston-Salem
Is Winston-Salem, NC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Winston-Salem reports more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #128 of 163 in North Carolina. Its police reported 8.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of North Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Winston-Salem?
8.1 violent and 29.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Carolina reports 4.9 and 27.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Winston-Salem in 2025?
Winston-Salem’s police reported 27 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 10.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Winston-Salem safer than Kernersville?
Kernersville reports less crime per resident than Winston-Salem: Kernersville grades D for safety and Winston-Salem D. Kernersville’s police reported 2.5 violent and 32.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Winston-Salem?
Winston-Salem’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Winston-Salem”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Winston-Salem.
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.