Charlotte, NC crime rate
In 2025 the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reported 559.1 violent crimes and 3,416.8 property crimes per 100,000 residents in the area it covers (the City of Charlotte and unincorporated Mecklenburg County; FBI population 1,035,037). The FBI's estimates for North Carolina and the US for the same year are beside each number.
Data as of 2025 (FBI), checked October 30, 2026. How we got these numbers
How does Charlotte compare with North Carolina and the US?
Arson has no FBI state or US estimate, so its row shows Charlotte only.
What offenses were reported in Charlotte, 2025?
| Offense | Reported | Per 100k | North Carolina | US | vs 2024 | vs 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | ||||||
| Violent crime | 5,787 | 559.1 | 330.3 | 327.6 | down 23.7% | down 28.7% |
| Murder | 93 | 9.0 | 6.5 | 4.1 | down 15.9% | down 10.0% |
| Rape | 190 | 18.4 | 26.1 | 36.1 | down 27.3% | down 48.0% |
| Robbery | 979 | 94.6 | 40.8 | 49.4 | down 27.3% | down 32.8% |
| Aggravated assault | 4,525 | 437.2 | 256.9 | 238.0 | down 22.9% | down 26.9% |
| Property crime | ||||||
| Property crime | 35,365 | 3,416.8 | 1,779.9 | 1,534.8 | down 8.1% | up 8.0% |
| Burglary | 4,051 | 391.4 | 303.9 | 193.6 | down 8.4% | up 0.5% |
| Larceny-theft | 25,156 | 2,430.4 | 1,272.3 | 1,144.1 | down 3.4% | down 0.1% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 6,036 | 583.2 | 203.6 | 197.0 | down 23.1% | up 77.9% |
| Arson | 122 | 11.8 | Not estimated | Not estimated | down 27.6% | down 13.9% |
Reported = offenses known to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and sent to the FBI. North Carolina and US are FBI estimates for the same year. Changes compare rates of full years only.
Charlotte's own count
| Offense | Year | FBI count | City count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murder | 2025 | 93 | 87 |
| Murder | 2024 | 107 | 97 |
| Robbery | 2025 | 979 | 995 |
| Robbery | 2024 | 1,306 | 1,307 |
| Aggravated assault | 2025 | 4,525 | 2,551 |
| Aggravated assault | 2024 | 5,687 | 2,860 |
| Burglary | 2025 | 4,051 | 3,583 |
| Burglary | 2024 | 4,285 | 3,677 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 2025 | 6,036 | 5,669 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 2024 | 7,612 | 7,020 |
City count: CMPD Incidents, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, gis.charlottenc.gov, checked October 29, 2026. The city counts some crimes differently from the FBI (for example by victim instead of by incident), so the two numbers don't always match.
Violent crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Charlotte | United States | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 784.6 | 387.0 | 419.5 |
| 2022 | 745.5 | 388.7 | 285.7 |
| 2023 | 725.8 | 379.5 | 393.5 |
| 2024 | 733.1 | 362.9 | 379.2 |
| 2025 | 559.1 | 327.6 | 330.3 |
Property crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Charlotte | United States | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3,163.3 | 1,832.3 | 2,087.2 |
| 2022 | 3,389.6 | 1,973.8 | 2,007.8 |
| 2023 | 3,853.2 | 1,934.1 | 2,070.7 |
| 2024 | 3,718.7 | 1,761.1 | 1,978.3 |
| 2025 | 3,416.8 | 1,534.8 | 1,779.9 |
Is Charlotte safe?
We don't rate cities as safe or unsafe. What the FBI's numbers show: in 2025 the violent crime rate the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reported, 559.1 per 100,000 residents, was higher than North Carolina's 330.3, and higher than the US rate of 327.6 (FBI estimates). It fell 23.7% from 2024.
What these numbers can't tell you:
- How crime differs between neighborhoods (the FBI publishes agency totals only).
- Crimes nobody reported to the police.
- How many offenses involved visitors and commuters, who are not in the population count.
Per 100,000 residents in the area the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department covers, which is the City of Charlotte plus unincorporated Mecklenburg County, the 5,787 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025 come to 559.1. That rate was 1.7 times both the North Carolina estimate of 330.3 and the US rate of 327.6. Property crime, at 3,416.8 per 100,000, was 1.9 times the state's 1,779.9 and 2.2 times the national 1,534.8.
Violent crime fell 23.7% from 2024 to 2025 and is down 28.7% from 2021, when the rate was 784.6. Rape fell the most of the violent offenses since 2021, 48.0%. At 18.4 per 100,000, the rape rate was below the state's 26.1 and the US rate of 36.1.
Murder was 9.0 per 100,000, 93 homicides, 2.2 times the US rate. In 2025, 78% of violent crimes were aggravated assaults. Property crime fell 8.1% in the last year.
Measured from 2021, property crime is up 8.0%, from 3,163.3. Motor vehicle theft rose the most of the property offenses from 2021 to 2025, 77.9%, to 583.2 per 100,000. From 2024 to 2025 motor vehicle theft fell 23.1%.
All 12 months were reported in each of the 5 years shown, and the department has reported to NIBRS since 2019. University of North Carolina at Charlotte police report separately, so their cases are not included. The department had 2.17 police employees per 1,000 residents in 2025.
Written from the numbers on this page. Every figure and every comparison is checked against the stored FBI data before publishing.
Police employees, 2025: 2.17 per 1,000 residents (1,702 officers, 540 civilians), FBI Crime Data Explorer. Shown as context, not as a measure of crime.
Other North Carolina cities
The nearest North Carolina cities with a page, in alphabetical order. VC = violent crime per 100,000, 2025.
Sources
- FBI Crime Data Explorer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (ORI NC0600100), offenses known to law enforcement and police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026. Crime Data Explorer
- FBI Crime Data Explorer, North Carolina and United States estimated crime (Summary Reporting System estimates), 2021 to 2025.
- FBI, "UCR Statistics: Their Proper Use" (why we don't rank cities).
Every stored file behind this page (11)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): violent crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_violent_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): murder, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_homicide__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): rape, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_rape__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): robbery, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_robbery__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): aggravated assault, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_aggravated_assault__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): property crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_property_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): burglary, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_burglary__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): larceny-theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_larceny__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): motor vehicle theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_motor_vehicle_theft__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): arson, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0600100_arson__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (NC0600100): police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/pe_agency_NC0600100__from-2021-to-2025.json)