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Highest Crime in North Carolina
Top 100 cities ranked by highest crime
Best North Carolina Cities
Composite rankings combining multiple weighted metrics — 4 topics from climate and air quality data.
Highest Crime — North Carolina
Cities with the highest crime rates in North Carolina face public safety challenges that affect residents' quality of life and economic development. Kinston has 1,807.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents.
High crime rates are often linked to economic factors including poverty, unemployment, income inequality, and limited access to education and social services. Addressing crime effectively requires tackling these underlying root causes alongside traditional law enforcement approaches.
Many cities on this list are actively implementing comprehensive safety strategies including community policing, violence intervention programs, youth mentorship, and economic development initiatives aimed at reducing the conditions that contribute to criminal activity.
Did You Know?
- 1. The violent crime rate in Kinston is 451.8x the national average.
- 2. Crime rates have been declining nationally for decades — even cities on this list have generally seen improvements over time.
- 3. Violent crime is heavily concentrated in specific neighborhoods — most areas within these cities are considerably safer than the citywide statistics suggest.