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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.



Chapel Hill, NC crime analytics

Source & Methodology

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:   18,000 local law enforcement agencies in the U.S.

Date(s) & Update Frequency:   Reflects 2022 calendar year; released from FBI in Oct. 2023 (latest available). Updated annually. Where is 2023 data?

Methodology:   Our nationwide meta-analysis overcomes the issues inherent in any crime database, including non-reporting and reporting errors. This is possible by associating the 9.4 million reported crimes in the U.S, including over 2 million geocoded point locations…. Read more about Scout's Crime Data

The crime rate in Chapel Hill is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 26 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Chapel Hill is 1 in 39. Based on FBI crime data, Chapel Hill is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to North Carolina, Chapel Hill has a crime rate that is higher than 75% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.

How does the crime rate in Chapel Hill compare to similar sized communities across America? When NeighborhoodScout compared Chapel Hill with other communities its size, we found that the crime rate was near the average for all other communities of similar size. So, whether Chapel Hill's crime rate is high or low compared to all places in the US, when we control for population size and compare it to places that are similar in size, it is near the middle of the pack in crime rate; not much more or less dangerous, and about what we would expect from the statistics.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Chapel Hill does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Chapel Hill.

From our analysis, we discovered that violent crime in Chapel Hill occurs at a rate higher than in most communities of all population sizes in America. The chance that a person will become a victim of a violent crime in Chapel Hill; such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape or murder; is 1 in 470. This equates to a rate of 2 per one thousand inhabitants.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Chapel Hill's rate for property crime is 24 per one thousand population. This makes Chapel Hill a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Chapel Hill is one in 42.

Chapel Hill Crime Data

total Crime Index

14

(100 is safest)


Safer than 14% of U.S. cities.

Chapel Hill Annual Crimes

  Violent Property Total

Number of Crimes

132

1,469

1,601

Crime Rate
(per 1,000 residents)

2.13

23.66

25.78

Violent Crime

Violent Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents)

20 15 10 5 0
2.13
4.05
National Median: 4
    Chapel Hill
    North Carolina

Chances of Becoming a Victim of a Violent Crime

1 in 470

in Chapel Hill

1 in 247

in North Carolina

Chapel Hill Violent Crimes

Population: 62,098
Murder Rape Robbery Assault
Report Total 2 16 28 86
Rate per 1,000 0.03 0.26 0.45 1.38

United States Violent Crimes

Population: 333,287,557
Murder Rape Robbery Assault
Report Total 21,156 133,294 220,450 893,980
Rate per 1,000 0.06 0.40 0.66 2.68

Property Crime

Property Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents)

100 75 50 25 0
23.66
20.64
National Median: 20
    Chapel Hill
    North Carolina

Chances of Becoming a Victim of a Property Crime

1 in 42

in Chapel Hill

1 in 48

in North Carolina

Property Crimes

Population: 62,098
burglary theft motor vehicle theft
Report Total 218 1,155 96
Rate per 1,000 3.51 18.60 1.55

United States Property Crimes

Population: 333,287,557
burglary theft motor vehicle theft
Report Total 899,293 4,672,363 942,173
Rate per 1,000 2.70 14.02 2.83

Chapel Hill Crimes Per Square Mile

200 150 100 50 0
75
23
National Median: 27.0
    Chapel Hill
    North Carolina