Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Shelby, NC Crime Grade
How Shelby grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of North Carolina — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
10/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
North Carolina
10/10
vs. North Carolina cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Shelby, NC was 874.3 per 100,000 residents (201 incidents over a population of 22,991). That puts Shelby 169% above the U.S. rate of 325.3 and 169% above the North Carolina statewide rate of 325.3.
That ranks Shelby #3,639 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 4% of them, and #80 of 86 in North Carolina. Violent crime is down 17% year over year and down 5% over the last five years.
Shelby, NC crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- F (10/10)
- North Carolina Grade
- F (10/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 874.3 / 100k
- National rank
- #3,639 of 3,771
- NC rank
- #80 of 86
- Safer than
- 4% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 17%
- 5-year change
- down 5%
- Population
- 22,991
- Reporting agency
- Shelby Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Shelby Police Department (FBI ORI NC0230200) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Shelby (red), North Carolina (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Shelby vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 924.1(186) | 905.0(199) | 963.0(210) | 1048.7(231) | 874.3(201) |
| Murder | 5.0(1) | 9.1(2) | 13.8(3) | 22.7(5) | 17.4(4) |
| Rape | 104.3(21) | 59.1(13) | 78.0(17) | 54.5(12) | 26.1(6) |
| Robbery | 79.5(16) | 109.1(24) | 123.8(27) | 77.2(17) | 95.7(22) |
| Aggravated assault | 735.3(148) | 727.6(160) | 747.5(163) | 894.3(197) | 735.1(169) |
| Property crime | 3025.6(609) | 2587.7(569) | 2696.4(588) | 2460.5(542) | 2448.8(563) |
| Burglary | 546.5(110) | 513.9(113) | 545.7(119) | 490.3(108) | 643.7(148) |
| Larceny | 2106.5(424) | 1796.4(395) | 1889.3(412) | 1716.0(378) | 1626.7(374) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 352.7(71) | 227.4(50) | 192.6(42) | 231.5(51) | 156.6(36) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Shelby, NC Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Shelby Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Shelby calculated?
- Shelby's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the North Carolina state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to North Carolina cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Shelby Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in North Carolina
Comparable North Carolina cities by population.
Compare Shelby to other places
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