Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Wake Forest, NC Crime Grade
How Wake Forest 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
3/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
North Carolina
2/10
vs. North Carolina cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Wake Forest, NC was 85.2 per 100,000 residents (50 incidents over a population of 58,676). That puts Wake Forest Infinity% above the U.S. rate of 0.0 and 74% below the North Carolina statewide rate of 325.3.
That ranks Wake Forest #953 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 75% of them, and #12 of 86 in North Carolina. Violent crime is down 42% year over year and down 41% over the last five years.
Wake Forest, NC crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- A (3/10)
- North Carolina Grade
- A (2/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 85.2 / 100k
- National rank
- #953 of 3,771
- NC rank
- #12 of 86
- Safer than
- 75% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 42%
- 5-year change
- down 41%
- Population
- 58,676
- Reporting agency
- Wake Forest Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Wake Forest Police Department (FBI ORI NC0920700) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
About Wake Forest, NC
Also known as
- Town of Wake Forest College
Name history sourced from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) — public-domain federal geographic-names data.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Wake Forest (red), North Carolina (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Wake Forest 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 | 143.6(71) | 114.8(59) | 157.8(83) | 146.8(82) | 85.2(50) |
| Murder | 0.0(0) | 1.9(1) | 1.9(1) | 5.4(3) | 3.4(2) |
| Rape | 12.1(6) | 11.7(6) | 13.3(7) | 5.4(3) | 6.8(4) |
| Robbery | 22.2(11) | 9.7(5) | 15.2(8) | 8.9(5) | 6.8(4) |
| Aggravated assault | 109.2(54) | 91.5(47) | 127.4(67) | 127.1(71) | 68.2(40) |
| Property crime | 944.3(467) | 1052.8(541) | 1592.9(838) | 1313.7(734) | 1012.3(594) |
| Burglary | 78.9(39) | 103.1(53) | 203.4(107) | 103.8(58) | 85.2(50) |
| Larceny | 808.8(400) | 881.6(453) | 1265.9(666) | 1122.2(627) | 852.1(500) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 50.5(25) | 62.3(32) | 119.8(63) | 84.1(47) | 66.5(39) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Wake Forest, 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 Wake Forest 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 Wake Forest calculated?
- Wake Forest'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 Wake Forest 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 Wake Forest to other places
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