Durham, NC crime rate
In 2025 the Durham Police Department reported 507.3 violent crimes and 3,598.7 property crimes per 100,000 residents it covers. 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 Durham compare with North Carolina and the US?
Arson has no FBI state or US estimate, so its row shows Durham only.
What offenses were reported in Durham, 2025?
| Offense | Reported | Per 100k | North Carolina | US | vs 2024 | vs 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | ||||||
| Violent crime | 1,558 | 507.3 | 330.3 | 327.6 | down 18.3% | down 32.1% |
| Murder | 33 | 10.7 | 6.5 | 4.1 | down 10.8% | down 32.3% |
| Rape | 162 | 52.7 | 26.1 | 36.1 | down 8.5% | up 13.1% |
| Robbery | 443 | 144.2 | 40.8 | 49.4 | down 10.4% | down 22.8% |
| Aggravated assault | 920 | 299.5 | 256.9 | 238.0 | down 23.3% | down 39.9% |
| Property crime | ||||||
| Property crime | 11,053 | 3,598.7 | 1,779.9 | 1,534.8 | down 5.6% | up 7.9% |
| Burglary | 1,251 | 407.3 | 303.9 | 193.6 | down 9.7% | down 20.6% |
| Larceny-theft | 8,146 | 2,652.2 | 1,272.3 | 1,144.1 | down 2.8% | up 4.2% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 1,614 | 525.5 | 203.6 | 197.0 | down 15.6% | up 99.8% |
| Arson | 42 | 13.7 | Not estimated | Not estimated | up 17.1% | up 5.4% |
Reported = offenses known to the Durham 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.
Violent crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Durham | United States | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 747.0 | 387.0 | 419.5 |
| 2022 | 690.7 | 388.7 | 285.7 |
| 2023 | 639.0 | 379.5 | 393.5 |
| 2024 | 621.2 | 362.9 | 379.2 |
| 2025 | 507.3 | 327.6 | 330.3 |
Property crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Durham | United States | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3,334.0 | 1,832.3 | 2,087.2 |
| 2022 | 3,342.1 | 1,973.8 | 2,007.8 |
| 2023 | 3,789.5 | 1,934.1 | 2,070.7 |
| 2024 | 3,813.0 | 1,761.1 | 1,978.3 |
| 2025 | 3,598.7 | 1,534.8 | 1,779.9 |
Is Durham safe?
We don't rate cities as safe or unsafe. What the FBI's numbers show: in 2025 the violent crime rate the Durham Police Department reported, 507.3 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 18.3% 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.
Durham's 1,558 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025 equal 507.3 per 100,000 residents covered by the Durham Police Department, 1.5 times both the North Carolina estimate of 330.3 and the US rate of 327.6. Property crime ran at 3,598.7 per 100,000, 2.0 times the state's 1,779.9 and 2.3 times the US figure of 1,534.8. Since 2021, violent crime is down 32.1%, from 747.0; it also fell 18.3% from 2024.
Aggravated assault fell the most of the violent offenses in both periods: 39.9% from 2021 and 23.3% from 2024. Aggravated assaults were 59% of violent crimes in 2025. Rape rose 13.1% from 2021, to 52.7 per 100,000, 2.0 times the state estimate.
Robbery, at 144.2 per 100,000, was 2.9 times the national rate. There were 33 homicides in 2025, 10.7 per 100,000, and the murder rate fell 32.3% from 2021. Property crime is up 7.9% from 2021, when it was 3,334.0.
Motor vehicle theft rose the most of the property offenses since 2021, 99.8%, to 525.5 per 100,000. Burglary fell the most of the property offenses in those years, 20.6%. All 12 months were sent in each of the 5 years shown; the department moved to NIBRS in 2019.
The Durham, Orange and Wake County sheriff's offices and Raleigh-Durham International Airport police report separately. Durham had 1.69 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: 1.69 per 1,000 residents (353 officers, 167 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, Durham Police Department (ORI NC0320100), 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)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): violent crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_violent_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): murder, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_homicide__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): rape, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_rape__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): robbery, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_robbery__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): aggravated assault, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_aggravated_assault__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): property crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_property_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): burglary, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_burglary__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): larceny-theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_larceny__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): motor vehicle theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_motor_vehicle_theft__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): arson, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0320100_arson__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Durham Police Department (NC0320100): police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/pe_agency_NC0320100__from-2021-to-2025.json)