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If you were looking to buy a home just a year ago, and now you’re looking again today, it’s an entirely different ballgame. Obviously new homes are available, but there are other factors to consider as well: Housing prices have fluctuated, new businesses are springing up or shutting down, but perhaps most notable are the crime rates.
Just last year at the Movoto Real Estate Blog we brought you the safest 10 cities in each state, according to the (then) most recent Crime Report from the FBI. Today, we’re at it again. We’re going from state to state and city to city, looking at the newest FBI Crime Report, to keep you current and most of all, to keep you safe.
And today we’re lookin’ at you, North Carolina. Here are the 10 safest places in the Tar Heel State:
1. Village of Pinehurst
2. Town of Davidson
3. Town of Holly Springs
4. Town of Apex
5. Town of Stallings
6. Town of Morrisville
7. Town of Waxhaw
8. Town of Huntersville
9. Town of Mint Hill
10. Town of Cornelius
If you saw our last list of the safest places in North Carolina, you’re sure to see some similarities (Congrats to Pinehurst, making the No. 1 spot two years in a row!) Of course there are also some differences. To find out just why this top 10 turned out the way it did, keep on reading and we’ll clear it all up for you.
Our Methodology
Just like for our 2014 list of safest places in North Carolina, we went straight to the experts for this updated information. Just a short time ago, the FBI released the crime statistics from 2013, so using this latest 2013 FBI Uniform Crime Report we examined North Carolina’s crime in the following criteria:
- Murders
- Rapes
- Robberies
- Assaults
- Burglaries
- Thefts
- Vehicle Thefts
We divided these crimes into four categories:
- Murders
- Violent Crimes
- Property Crimes
- Total Crimes
Then we calculated the number of crimes per person (per capita) in each of the 68 places in North Carolina with populations of 10,000 people or more. From there, we ranked each place with a score from 1 to 68 according in the above criteria, with scores closer to one being safer.
Next, we weighted these rankings so that murders, violent crimes, and property crimes each made up 30 percent of the overall score, while the total number of crimes made up just 10 percent. And finally, we averaged these weighted rankings into an overall Big Deal Score, where the lowest score went to our safest place. That’s you, Pinehurst.
Now that you know the method behind the analysis, let’s take a closer look at each of our top 10. Then, we’ll show you how each of the 50 safest places in the state ranked—where, hopefully, you’ll see your hometown.
1. Pinehurst
Clearly Pinehurst is doing something right, because not only did it make the No. 1 spot this year, but it also took the lead last year—though for slightly different reasons.
Where last year it had the fewest number of total crimes per person, this year it had the fewest number of violent crimes per person (just a total of two robberies and six assaults for the entire year!)
With such low numbers in violence, and even low numbers of property crimes (the second lowest per person in the state), Pinehurst residents had just a 1 in 114 chance of being the victims of a crime. Which is low, but not quite as low as our next town…
2. Davidson
Out of all of the places we looked at, residents in Davidson were the least likely to be victims of a crime—they had just a 1 in 115 chance.
That’s because Davidson had the lowest total number of crimes in 2013—just 101. With 11,657 residents, this meant that Pinehurst had the fewest crimes per person.
Most of those crimes were property crimes (90 out of 101—also the fewest per person in the state), and the remaining were violent crimes, though luckily, none of these were murders.
3. Holly Springs
There are many reasons this Wake County town has more than doubled in population over the past decade, and it isn’t just the fact that it is absolutely adorable (though that probably helps). Underlying that adorability, though, is one of the lowest crime rates in the state.
In 2013, Holly Springs had just 341 total crimes, and with its population of 27,557, this was the third lowest number per capita in the state. This was due to both its low number of property crimes—also the third lowest per person—and its low number of violent crimes—the fifth lowest per person.
4. Apex
Apex is coming up all over Movoto’s radar as of late. It was recently ranked the best place in the state overall and last year, was ranked No. 5 on our safest places in North Carolina list. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make the No. 5 spot this year…it did even better, at No. 4!
That’s because Apex had the fourth lowest total number of crimes per person—just 571 for the year, with a population of 41,356.
This was made up of 535 property crimes (the fourth lowest per person) and just 36 violent crimes (the sixth lowest per person). None of these included murder.
5. Stallings
The good news is, Stallings made the list of safest places two years in a row. The bad news is, it fell in its ranking by two points. How come?
Well, it looks like violent crime is the reason. While the ninth fewest violent crimes per person is incredibly impressive (remember, we did look at over 65 places), it wasn’t quite as low as it was in 2012.
Even better, though, was its ranking in the category of property crimes. With just a total of 237 for the year, it had the seventh fewest per person.
6. Morrisville
Just like Stallings above, Morrisville made the cut in both this year’s rankings and last year’s. Also like Stallings, it fell by two points, from No. 4 last year to No. 6.
This was mostly due to an increase in property crime and therefore overall crime. That being said, Morrisville still had one of the lowest numbers of violent crime per person—the second fewest in North Carolina.
All in all, with just 432 total crimes in 2013 and 21,229 residents, Morrisville had the 12th lowest number of crimes per person. That gave locals a 1 in 49 chance of being the victim of a crime.
7. Waxhaw
Congratulations to the Town of Waxhaw, a new addition to the safest places in North Carolina. The reason it joined the ranks of places like Pinehurst is simple: it had some of the fewest crimes per person in the state.
To be more specific, in 2013, this Union County town had a total of just 176 crimes. With its population of 10,481 residents, this gave Waxhaw the sixth fewest crimes per person.
To be even more specific here, this was made up of 161 property crimes (the sixth fewest per person) and just 15 violent crimes (the 12th fewest.)
8. Huntersville
Once again, Huntersville made our list at No. 8 for many of the same reasons that it did last year. For example, in 2013, Huntersville kept its number of violent crimes well below average, with just 49 for the entire year. With a population of over 50,000 residents, this was the eighth lowest number of violent crimes per person.
It also had the 12th lowest number of property crimes per person, all adding up to the 11th lowest number of crimes overall.
All of that means that Huntersville residents had just a 1 in 51 chance of being the victim of a crime—an impressive feat, but still, not quite as impressive as our next place…
9. Mint Hill
Mint Hill residents had one of the lowest chances of being the victim of a crime in 2013: just 1 in 54. This is because for the entire year, it had just 451 total crimes, made up of 406 property crimes and 45 violent crimes.
With its population of 24,350, this meant that it had both the eighth fewest total crimes and property crimes per person, and the 18th fewest violent crimes.
Now the 18th fewest may not sound all that impressive, but do keep in mind, this was out of a total of 68 places, and also, none of those violent crimes were murders.
10. Cornelius
The final spot on our list goes to another newcomer as of this year, Cornelius. This Mecklenburg County town took the place of Boone on this year’s list, mostly because of its low number of property crimes—just 477 for the entire year.
With its population of just under 27,000, this meant that it had the 10th fewest property crimes per person in the state. Plus, with a relatively low number of violent crimes (a total of 42; the 16th fewest per person in the state), it had just 519 crimes for the year.
That’s the 10th fewest total crimes per person in the state.
Time for a Change
As we’ve learned from looking at this most recent crime data, compared to that of just a year ago, a whole lot can change in a short time. Lucky for you, if you’re ready for a change, we’re here. Not only are we awesome at finding you a new home, be it in North Carolina or someplace else, but we’ll also keep you updated on where the safest places are to look.
