Data through August 2026, Durham Police Department

Crime in Durham, NC

The violent crime rate in Durham is 513 per 100,000 residents per year over the 12 months to August 2026, 17% above the average of the 302 cities and county areas we cover. That is −5% compared with the previous 12 months.

A historic building in downtown Durham, North Carolina.
Photo: Maria Miracoli, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped

The numbers

12 months to Aug 2026

Violent crime

513 per 100,000 residents, per year

1,577 reported in the 12 months to Aug 2026

−5% vs. the previous 12 months

Property crime

3,439 per 100,000 residents, per year

10,563 reported in the 12 months to Aug 2026

−8% vs. the previous 12 months

All reported

3,953 per 100,000 residents, per year

12,140 reported in the 12 months to Aug 2026

Annual rates: reported incidents over the last 12 months per 100,000 residents (population 307,140, U.S. Census).

What counts as violent and property crime

Counted the FBI's way, the same for every city: violent crime is homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, theft, vehicle theft and arson. Simple assault is not counted as violent. How we count

Where Durham sits among covered places

violent, per 100k, per year

513

Durham has the 98th-highest rate of the 302 cities and county areas on this site, higher than 204 of the other 301.

Carmel 51avg 437Detroit 1,632

The ring is Durham; the tick is the average of all 302 cities and county areas.

The places closest to Durham in the ranking, highest rate first. See all 302 cities and county areas

Durham crime map

cities around it
Loading map…

SaferHigher rateViolent crimes per 100,000 residents per year, for each whole city. The colors are not crime locations.

The FBI publishes citywide totals from Durham Police Department, not where each crime happened, so this map fills Durham and the 8 covered cities around it with each one’s whole-city rate instead of plotting crimes.

Of the 8 covered cities nearest Durham, 3 have a higher violent crime rate and 5 a lower one. The closest is Cary, NC, 14 miles away.

Durham and the covered places nearest to it, with each one’s violent crime rate and distance
PlaceViolent per 100kDistance
Durham, NC513
Cary, NC5814 mi
Raleigh, NC38318 mi
Greensboro, NC70252 mi
Fayetteville, NC56362 mi
Winston-Salem, NC72577 mi
Charlotte, NC499121 mi
Richmond, VA411133 mi
Wilmington, NC378135 mi
About the colors and distances

Colors use the same scale as the rest of the site, from the lowest to the highest violent crime rate among the 302 cities and county areas we cover. City outlines from the U.S. Census Bureau. Distances are straight-line, between city centers.

Reported crime by type

12 months to Aug 2026
OffenseReportedPer 100kvs. previous monthvs. a year earlier
HomicideViolent299.4—−24%
About these categories

The FBI publishes city totals by family, not a full breakdown by offence, so homicide is the only type Durham Police Department reports separately here. Red means more than before, green means fewer. “Not yet” means the site does not have that month from a year earlier.

Month by month

Sep 2025 to Aug 2026

Violent crime −5%

050100150200SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug135147
Violent crimes per month in Durham, NC, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 and a year earlier
MonthViolent crimesMonth a year earlierViolent crimes
Sep 2025130Sep 2024165
Oct 2025131Oct 2024169
Nov 2025128Nov 2024143
Dec 2025115Dec 2024136
Jan 2026108Jan 2025124
Feb 202684Feb 2025106
Mar 2026173Mar 2025128
Apr 2026107Apr 2025118
May 2026171May 2025174
Jun 2026154Jun 2025133
Jul 2026141Jul 2025124
Aug 2026135Aug 2025147

Homicides −24%

02468SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug54
Homicides per month in Durham, NC, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 and a year earlier
MonthHomicidesMonth a year earlierHomicides
Sep 20254Sep 20243
Oct 20251Oct 20243
Nov 20251Nov 20243
Dec 20252Dec 20244
Jan 20263Jan 20252
Feb 20266Feb 20252
Mar 20263Mar 20254
Apr 20261Apr 20252
May 20261May 20256
Jun 20262Jun 20252
Jul 20260Jul 20253
Aug 20265Aug 20254

21 in 2026 through August, 25 in the same months of 2025. Compare with other places

Every month since Sep 2023
Reported crime per month in Durham, NC
MonthViolentPropertyHomicides
Aug 20261359385
Jul 20261418950
Jun 20261548302
May 20261719341
Apr 20261078451
Mar 20261738333
Feb 2026847686
Jan 20261087843
Dec 20251159212
Nov 20251288861
Oct 20251319991
Sep 20251309304
Aug 20251471,0664
Jul 20251241,0523
Jun 20251338712
May 20251749786
Apr 20251188262
Mar 20251289084
Feb 20251067202
Jan 20251248962
Dec 20241361,0764
Nov 20241439443
Oct 20241691,0383
Sep 20241651,0903
Aug 20241549731
Jul 20241449100
Jun 20241599343
May 20241959316
Apr 20241478547
Mar 20241578391
Feb 20241548133
Jan 20241421,0452
Dec 20231478911
Nov 20231628574
Oct 20231498938
Sep 20231349815

How Durham compares

per 100k, per year

Similar size

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to
32Cincinnati, OH8353,468316,260Sep 2026
47Corpus Christi, TX7452,689317,077Jun 2026
54Greensboro, NC7022,980310,328Dec 2025
98Durham, NC5133,439307,140Aug 2026
108St. Paul, MN4852,686307,657Sep 2026
112Pittsburgh, PA4692,297306,794Mar 2026
113Jersey City, NJ4671,667305,249Aug 2026
132Lincoln, NE3911,767302,860Aug 2026
147North Las Vegas, NV3621,548302,881Jun 2026
174Santa Ana, CA3101,267317,439Jun 2026

The 10 places closest to Durham in population, Durham included, highest violent crime rate first.

Same state

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to
50Winston-Salem, NC7252,821257,431Jun 2026
54Greensboro, NC7022,980310,328Dec 2025
84Fayetteville, NC5632,608209,151Aug 2026
98Durham, NC5133,439307,140Aug 2026
102Charlotte, NC4993,0181,035,037Sep 2026
137Raleigh, NC3832,132508,719Aug 2026
141Wilmington, NC3782,893127,752Sep 2026
298Cary, NC58700184,680Oct 2026

All 8 places in North Carolina on this site, highest violent crime rate first.

Nearby

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to
39Newport News, VA7942,282182,798Dec 2025
50Winston-Salem, NC7252,821257,431Jun 2026
54Greensboro, NC7022,980310,328Dec 2025
84Fayetteville, NC5632,608209,151Aug 2026
98Durham, NC5133,439307,140Aug 2026
102Charlotte, NC4993,0181,035,037Sep 2026
123Richmond, VA4113,279235,995Jun 2026
137Raleigh, NC3832,132508,719Aug 2026
141Wilmington, NC3782,893127,752Sep 2026
298Cary, NC58700184,680Oct 2026

The 9 places on this site closest to Durham by distance, highest violent crime rate first.

#PlaceViolentPropertyResidentsData to

Figures are what each agency reports to the FBI, over the last 12 months it has reported in full, so the months differ. See all 302 cities and county areas in the rankings

Compare Durham side by side with Raleigh, Greensboro or Winston-Salem, or with any other place.

Other cities in North Carolina

7 city pages, closest first

North Carolina as a whole has 312 violent crimes per 100,000 residents per year, as reported to the FBI over the 12 months to Jun 2026; Durham’s rate is 65% above the state’s.

CaryRaleighGreensboroFayettevilleWinston-SalemCharlotteWilmington

All 8 cities in North Carolina

Common questions

answered with the data above
Is Durham safe?

By reported violent crime, Durham is above the average of the 302 cities and county areas on this site: 513 violent crimes per 100,000 residents per year over the 12 months to August 2026, −5% versus the previous 12 months. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood, so the citywide figure is only a starting point.

Is there a crime map for Durham?

This site does not have one for Durham. The figures on this page come from the FBI, which receives city totals rather than locations, so CurrentCrimeMap shows how Durham compares with nearby places such as Cary, NC instead of a street-level map.

What is the crime rate in Durham?

513 violent and 3,439 property crimes per 100,000 residents per year, based on 12,140 incidents reported to Durham Police Department over the 12 months to August 2026.

Is crime in Durham going up or down?

It is going down: violent crime −5% and property crime −8% over the last 12 months compared with the 12 months before.

How many homicides has Durham had in 2026?

Durham Police Department reported 21 homicides from January to August 2026, the latest month it has reported in full, against 25 in the same months of 2025. Over the 12 months to Aug 2026 the count was 29, or 9 per 100,000 residents.

Where does the data come from?

From Durham Police Department, via FBI Crime Data Explorer (dataset NC0320100). We count reported incidents by month and offense type and divide by the Census population. Reported crime undercounts actual crime; see the methodology page for what the numbers leave out.

Moving to or visiting Durham

12 months to August 2026

What these numbers leave out: most crime never reaches the police. In the federal victim survey (BJS, 2024), about half of violent crimes and less than a third of property crimes were reported, and only a quarter of everyday thefts. Rates are per resident, so busy downtowns and tourist areas look worse than they are for the people who visit them.

The official source is FBI Crime Data Explorer. For what to look for, and what not to read into a rate, see how to read US crime numbers.

Source and dates

NC0320100
Source
Durham Police Department, via FBI Crime Data Explorer (dataset NC0320100)
Latest complete month
August 2026
History on this site
September 2023 to August 2026 (44 months)
Update schedule
Durham Police Department reports monthly to the FBI under the national NIBRS standard. We refresh every morning and publish the most recent 12 months the agency has reported in full.
Download
Monthly counts by offense (JSON)