Crime & Safety in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill's crime data shows a real, disclosed disagreement between its two most-cited sources on the raw overall rate, though both describe a picture close to or somewhat below national averages overall -- with a sharper, more concerning split specifically on violent crime.
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Learn moreCrimeGrade and NeighborhoodScout disagree on the overall rate
CrimeGrade cites Chapel Hill's overall crime rate at 41.08 per 1,000 residents in a typical year, while NeighborhoodScout instead cites 31 per 1,000 -- a real, disclosed gap of roughly 10 crimes per 1,000 residents between the two most commonly cited sources. A separate source states Chapel Hill's overall crime rate runs 18% below the national average as of 2026 -- broadly consistent with NeighborhoodScout's lower figure but not directly reconciled with CrimeGrade's higher one.
Violent crime specifically reads less favorably
CrimeGrade cites Chapel Hill's violent crime rate at 4.281 per 1,000 residents, giving the town a D+ grade for violent crime specifically and placing it in the 27th percentile for safety on that measure -- a notably less favorable read than the overall-crime-rate figures above, and worth disclosing as its own distinct data point rather than assuming a middling overall grade means violent crime specifically is unremarkable.
Real variance by area within Chapel Hill
Per 2026 crime data, residents' chance of being a victim ranges from roughly 1-in-19 in the town's east neighborhoods to about 1-in-38 in the west -- a real, roughly two-to-one difference in risk depending on area. The safest neighborhoods cited include Fraternity Row, UNC Central Campus, Mason Farm Area, Old Country Club-UNC, and UNC North -- notably, several of these are UNC-campus-adjacent areas, consistent with the university's dominant local footprint discussed throughout this file.
A real, quantified economic cost of crime
One source projects the cost of crime in Chapel Hill for 2025 at $350,231,281 -- about $569 per resident and $1,368 per household. Check a specific address directly with more than one crime-data source given the real disagreement described above; per site policy, no specific lower-rated area is named here beyond the safest-area list already cited by name in the source material.
Key takeaways
- CrimeGrade cites Chapel Hill's overall crime rate at 41.08/1,000 residents, versus NeighborhoodScout's 31/1,000 -- a real, disclosed gap of roughly 10 crimes per 1,000 between the two most commonly cited sources. A separate source cites the overall rate as 18% below the national average.
- Violent crime specifically reads less favorably: CrimeGrade gives Chapel Hill a D+ grade for violent crime (4.281/1,000), placing it in the 27th percentile for safety on that measure -- a distinct, less favorable data point from the overall-rate figures.
- Risk varies roughly two-to-one by area: about 1-in-19 in east neighborhoods versus 1-in-38 in the west, per 2026 data. The safest-cited neighborhoods (Fraternity Row, UNC Central Campus, Mason Farm Area, Old Country Club-UNC, UNC North) are notably concentrated around UNC's campus.
- The projected 2025 cost of crime in Chapel Hill is $350,231,281 (about $569/resident, $1,368/household). Check a specific address with more than one crime-data source given the real disagreement described above.
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