Winston-Salem, NC crime rate
In 2025 the Winston-Salem Police Department reported 744.7 violent crimes and 3,024.1 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 Winston-Salem compare with North Carolina and the US?
Arson has no FBI state or US estimate, so its row shows Winston-Salem only.
What offenses were reported in Winston-Salem, 2025?
| Offense | Reported | Per 100k | North Carolina | US | vs 2024 | vs 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | ||||||
| Violent crime | 1,917 | 744.7 | 330.3 | 327.6 | down 8.4% | down 35.6% |
| Murder | 27 | 10.5 | 6.5 | 4.1 | down 7.9% | down 30.9% |
| Rape | 106 | 41.2 | 26.1 | 36.1 | down 13.4% | down 4.6% |
| Robbery | 207 | 80.4 | 40.8 | 49.4 | down 17.3% | down 15.9% |
| Aggravated assault | 1,577 | 612.6 | 256.9 | 238.0 | down 6.7% | down 38.9% |
| Property crime | ||||||
| Property crime | 7,785 | 3,024.1 | 1,779.9 | 1,534.8 | up 2.1% | down 25.9% |
| Burglary | 1,420 | 551.6 | 303.9 | 193.6 | down 3.4% | down 21.4% |
| Larceny-theft | 5,449 | 2,116.7 | 1,272.3 | 1,144.1 | up 5.3% | down 30.0% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 827 | 321.3 | 203.6 | 197.0 | down 9.5% | down 2.5% |
| Arson | 89 | 34.6 | Not estimated | Not estimated | up 25.4% | up 35.2% |
Reported = offenses known to the Winston-Salem 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 | Winston-Salem | United States | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,157.2 | 387.0 | 419.5 |
| 2022 | 1,179.5 | 388.7 | 285.7 |
| 2023 | 890.4 | 379.5 | 393.5 |
| 2024 | 812.9 | 362.9 | 379.2 |
| 2025 | 744.7 | 327.6 | 330.3 |
Property crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Winston-Salem | United States | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4,080.8 | 1,832.3 | 2,087.2 |
| 2022 | 3,922.5 | 1,973.8 | 2,007.8 |
| 2023 | 3,048.8 | 1,934.1 | 2,070.7 |
| 2024 | 2,963.3 | 1,761.1 | 1,978.3 |
| 2025 | 3,024.1 | 1,534.8 | 1,779.9 |
Is Winston-Salem safe?
We don't rate cities as safe or unsafe. What the FBI's numbers show: in 2025 the violent crime rate the Winston-Salem Police Department reported, 744.7 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 8.4% 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.
Violent crime reported to the FBI in Winston-Salem came to 1,917 offenses in 2025, 744.7 per 100,000 residents covered by the Winston-Salem Police Department. The North Carolina estimate for 2025 was 330.3 and the US rate 327.6; the city's rate was 2.3 times either figure. Property crime was 3,024.1 per 100,000, or 1.7 times the state rate of 1,779.9 and 2.0 times the national 1,534.8.
Violent crime is down 35.6% since 2021, when the rate was 1,157.2, and 8.4% since 2024. Aggravated assault fell the most of the violent offenses from 2021 to 2025, 38.9%, and made up 82% of violent crime in 2025. Robbery fell the most of the violent offenses in the last year, 17.3%.
Murder came to 10.5 per 100,000, 27 homicides, down 30.9% from 2021. Property crime is 25.9% below its 2021 level of 4,080.8. In the last year property crime rose 2.1%, and larceny-theft rose 5.3%.
Across the 5 years, larceny-theft fell the most of the property offenses, 30.0%. Burglary, at 551.6 per 100,000, was 2.8 times the US rate. All 12 months were reported for each year shown; the department has reported to NIBRS since 2019.
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office and Winston-Salem State University police report separately.
Written from the numbers on this page. Every figure and every comparison is checked against the stored FBI data before publishing.
Police employees, 2025: 2.39 per 1,000 residents (438 officers, 177 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, Winston-Salem Police Department (ORI NC0340200), 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)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): violent crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_violent_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): murder, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_homicide__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): rape, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_rape__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): robbery, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_robbery__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): aggravated assault, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_aggravated_assault__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): property crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_property_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): burglary, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_burglary__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): larceny-theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_larceny__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): motor vehicle theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_motor_vehicle_theft__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): arson, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NC0340200_arson__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Winston-Salem Police Department (NC0340200): police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/pe_agency_NC0340200__from-2021-to-2025.json)