Salisbury's crime rate
There were 1,662 crimes reported in Salisbury, North Carolina in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 4,906 incidents for every 100,000 people.
How does Salisbury compare?
Salisbury has one of the highest overall crime rates of any U.S. city. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.
Salisbury's overall crime rate is 80% higher than the overall crime rate in North Carolina. Statewide, there were 286,231 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,729 for every 100,000 people.
What types of crimes are being committed?
The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.
Property crime
The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Salisbury, property crimes also account for about 85% of all offenses.
Property crime is more prevalent in Salisbury than it is nationwide. There were 1,413 property crimes in Salisbury in 2019, or 4,171 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.
Larceny
Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Salisbury. There were 1,094 larcenies reported in Salisbury in 2019, or 3,229 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.
Burglary
There were 220 break-ins reported in Salisbury in 2019, or 649 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.
Motor Vehicle Theft
Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Salisbury, meanwhile, there were 99 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 292 for every 100,000 people.
Violent crime
Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Salisbury, violent offenses also account for a 15% share of all reported crime.
At 735 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Salisbury is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Salisbury reported a total of 249 violent crimes in 2019.
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Salisbury. There were 163 aggravated assaults reported in Salisbury in 2019, or 481 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.
Robbery
Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 69 robberies reported in Salisbury in 2019, a rate of 204 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.
Rape
There were 15 rapes reported in Salisbury in 2019, or 44 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.
Murder
There were 2 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Salisbury is 5.9 murders for every 100,000 people, higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.
Salisbury compared to other cities in North Carolina
Salisbury has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in North Carolina. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.
Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.
Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.
Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.
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