Chapel Hill, NC vs Jacksonville, NC: Crime Rate Comparison (2025)
A side-by-side look at reported crime in Chapel Hill and Jacksonville, on the FBI-based Crime Index (0–100, higher = safer) for 2025.
Chapel Hill is the safer city
Chapel Hill scores 83/100 (grade B) versus 76/100 (grade B) for Jacksonville — a 7-point gap. Jacksonville's violent-crime rate is 2.6× Chapel Hill. Across the 8 offense categories, Chapel Hill has the lower rate in 5.
Chapel Hill, NC
SaferCrime Index
- Population
- 65,938
- Violent / 100k
- 86.4
- Property / 100k
- 1,774
- In North Carolina
- #6 of 21
Jacksonville, NC
Crime Index
- Population
- 70,256
- Violent / 100k
- 228
- Property / 100k
- 1,725
- In North Carolina
- #8 of 21
Crime rates head-to-head
| Metric | Chapel Hill | Jacksonville | US average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Index (higher = safer) | 83B | 76B | 73C |
| Violent crime /100k | 86.4 | 228 | 315 |
| Property crime /100k | 1,774 | 1,725 | 1,487 |
| Homicide /100k | 0 | 8.5 | 4.1 |
| Total reported /100k | 1,861 | 1,953 | 1,802 |
Grade shown per index band (88–100 = A … 0–29 = F). Rates are reported offenses per 100,000 residents.
By offense
Rate per 100,000 residents — the lower (safer) city is highlighted.
| Offense | Chapel Hill | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 8.5 |
| Rape | 12.1 | 34.2 |
| Robbery | 27.3 | 22.8 |
| Aggravated assault | 47 | 162 |
| Burglary | 211 | 167 |
| Larceny-theft | 1,429 | 1,463 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 132 | 85.4 |
| Arson | 3 | 10 |
Crime trends
Chapel Hill
Jacksonville
Frequently asked questions
Is Chapel Hill or Jacksonville safer?
Which has more violent crime, Chapel Hill or Jacksonville?
What are the odds of violent crime in Chapel Hill vs Jacksonville?
No area has zero risk
A high Crime Index score means lower reported crime relative to other US cities — it is not a guarantee of safety. Reported crime is not the same as actual crime. Research on the gap between crime that occurs and crime that gets reported to police — often called the "dark figure" of crime — estimates that roughly 40% of violent crime and about a third of property crime go unreported each year. Every index built on official statistics, including this one, necessarily undercounts real crime. That gap is exactly why homicide — the offense with the smallest dark figure — anchors the calculation instead of a more commonly reported but less reliable category like theft.
Scores on this page reflect FBI-reported data for 2025. See the full methodology →
Protecting yourself in Chapel Hill & Jacksonville
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