Crime in Williamston, North Carolina

Williamston's crime rate

There were 414 crimes reported in Williamston, North Carolina in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 7,936 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Williamston compare?

Williamston 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.

Williamston's overall crime rate is 191% 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 Williamston, property crimes account for only about 84% of all offenses.

Property crime is much more prevalent in Williamston than it is nationwide. There were 348 property crimes in Williamston in 2019, or 6,671 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 Williamston. There were 260 larcenies reported in Williamston in 2019, or 4,984 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 80 break-ins reported in Williamston in 2019, or 1,533 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 Williamston, meanwhile, there were 8 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 153 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 Williamston, however, violent offenses account for a larger 16% share of all reported crime.

At 1,265 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Williamston is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Williamston reported a total of 66 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 Williamston. There were 56 aggravated assaults reported in Williamston in 2019, or 1,073 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 3 robberies reported in Williamston in 2019, a rate of 58 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 6 rapes reported in Williamston in 2019, or 115 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There was one homicide reported in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Williamston is 19.2 for every 100,000 people, more than triple the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Williamston compared to other cities in North Carolina

Williamston 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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