State profile · NC · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in North Carolina

Federal Clery Act filings for all 156 tracked North Carolina campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Cape Fear Community College currently has the lowest rate.

156
Institutions tracked
2.22
Avg campus rate / 1k (156 of 156 scored)
2.89
Statewide rate / 1k
#32
Rank by avg campus rate
586,119
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Cape Fear Community College has the lowest rate in North Carolina

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 156 tracked campuses in North Carolina, 87 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Cape Fear Community College has the lowest rate at 0.07 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
156
average campus, per 1,000 (156 of 156 scored)
2.22
lowest nonzero rate - Cape Fear Community
0.07
campuses at zero in score categories
87

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet NC · North Carolina 2.22/1k campus avg · #32/59

RATE-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT

  • RATE-MID 2.22/1k
  • RANK-MID #32/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Virginia · ±0.01
  • ZERO-HEAVY 56% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −0.67
  • BOOK-FULL 156/156
  • CONC-FLAT top5 26%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Virginia (+0.01/1k)

North Carolina sheet RATE-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT · peer Virginia. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Virginia (+0.01/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Cape Fear Community College leads at 0.07/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Most scored campuses in North Carolina (87 of 156) reported zero in the 2024 score categories and stay unranked against each other. Among the nonzero reporters, Cape Fear Community College leads at 0.07/1k, then Wake Technical Community College (0.08/1k); Central Piedmont Community College (0.15/1k). A high zero share is a filing pattern, not a proof that campuses are safer.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around North Carolina

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest North Carolina on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around North Carolina's 2.22/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in North Carolina, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 69 North Carolina campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Showing the top 50 here so the page stays crawlable; positions are numbered within the full nonzero group.

4
Gaston College Dallas · 6,443 students
Enrollment
6,443
Incidents /1k
0.16
19
Montreat College Montreat · 962 students
Enrollment
962
Incidents /1k
1.04
23
Brevard College Brevard · 875 students
Enrollment
875
Incidents /1k
2.29
24
Barton College Wilson · 1,235 students
Enrollment
1,235
Incidents /1k
2.43
30
Elon University Elon · 7,239 students
Enrollment
7,239
Incidents /1k
3.18
32
Meredith College Raleigh · 1,465 students
Enrollment
1,465
Incidents /1k
3.41
50
Catawba College Salisbury · 1,376 students
Enrollment
1,376
Incidents /1k
6.54
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Cape Fear Community College Wilmington · 14,082 students 14,082 0.07 4% of the leader · rank #1
2 Wake Technical Community College Raleigh · 24,609 students 24,609 0.08 4% of the leader · rank #2
3 Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte · 20,375 students 20,375 0.15 4% of the leader · rank #3
4 Gaston College Dallas · 6,443 students 6,443 0.16 4% of the leader · rank #4
5 Catawba Valley Community College Hickory · 4,904 students 4,904 0.20 4% of the leader · rank #5
6 Mitchell Community College Statesville · 3,979 students 3,979 0.25 4% of the leader · rank #6
7 Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest · 3,220 students 3,220 0.31 4% of the leader · rank #7
8 Blue Ridge Community College Flat Rock · 2,723 students 2,723 0.37 4% of the leader · rank #8
9 Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Asheville · 6,510 students 6,510 0.46 4% of the leader · rank #9
10 Southwestern Community College Sylva · 2,157 students 2,157 0.46 4% of the leader · rank #10
11 Davidson-Davie Community College Thomasville · 4,305 students 4,305 0.46 4% of the leader · rank #11
12 South Piedmont Community College Polkton · 4,013 students 4,013 0.50 4% of the leader · rank #12
13 Pitt Community College Winterville · 7,684 students 7,684 0.52 4% of the leader · rank #13
14 Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown · 11,485 students 11,485 0.52 4% of the leader · rank #14
15 Wilson Community College Wilson · 1,832 students 1,832 0.55 4% of the leader · rank #15
16 Alamance Community College Graham · 4,827 students 4,827 0.62 4% of the leader · rank #16
17 Southeastern Community College Whiteville · 1,426 students 1,426 0.70 4% of the leader · rank #17
18 Surry Community College Dobson · 2,796 students 2,796 0.72 4% of the leader · rank #18
19 Montreat College Montreat · 962 students 962 1.04 4% of the leader · rank #19
20 Carteret Community College Morehead City · 1,614 students 1,614 1.24 4% of the leader · rank #20
21 Roanoke-Chowan Community College Ahoskie · 668 students 668 1.50 5% of the leader · rank #21
22 Wilkes Community College Wilkesboro · 2,593 students 2,593 1.54 5% of the leader · rank #22
23 Brevard College Brevard · 875 students 875 2.29 7% of the leader · rank #23
24 Barton College Wilson · 1,235 students 1,235 2.43 8% of the leader · rank #24
25 Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem · 9,099 students 9,099 2.53 8% of the leader · rank #25
26 Warren Wilson College Swannanoa · 791 students 791 2.53 8% of the leader · rank #26
27 Fayetteville State University Fayetteville · 7,107 students 7,107 2.67 9% of the leader · rank #27
28 North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh · 38,464 students 38,464 2.99 10% of the leader · rank #28
29 East Carolina University Greenville · 26,940 students 26,940 3.12 10% of the leader · rank #29
30 Elon University Elon · 7,239 students 7,239 3.18 10% of the leader · rank #30
31 Appalachian State University Boone · 21,570 students 21,570 3.20 10% of the leader · rank #31
32 Meredith College Raleigh · 1,465 students 1,465 3.41 11% of the leader · rank #32
33 Campbell University Buies Creek · 4,963 students 4,963 3.63 12% of the leader · rank #33
34 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte · 31,091 students 31,091 3.67 12% of the leader · rank #34
35 Wingate University Wingate · 3,458 students 3,458 3.76 12% of the leader · rank #35
36 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill · 32,438 students 32,438 4.04 13% of the leader · rank #36
37 University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington · 18,848 students 18,848 4.19 13% of the leader · rank #37
38 Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Charlotte · 1,184 students 1,184 4.22 14% of the leader · rank #38
39 North Carolina Wesleyan University Rocky Mount · 1,419 students 1,419 4.23 14% of the leader · rank #39
40 Mars Hill University Mars Hill · 1,110 students 1,110 4.50 14% of the leader · rank #40
41 Western Carolina University Cullowhee · 11,686 students 11,686 4.54 15% of the leader · rank #41
42 Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory · 2,256 students 2,256 4.88 16% of the leader · rank #42
43 North Carolina Central University Durham · 8,579 students 8,579 5.13 16% of the leader · rank #43
44 Livingstone College Salisbury · 936 students 936 5.34 17% of the leader · rank #44
45 University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem · 1,111 students 1,111 5.40 17% of the leader · rank #45
46 William Peace University Raleigh · 722 students 722 5.54 18% of the leader · rank #46
47 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro · 18,012 students 18,012 5.66 18% of the leader · rank #47
48 Belmont Abbey College Belmont · 1,388 students 1,388 5.76 19% of the leader · rank #48
49 Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte · 1,599 students 1,599 6.25 20% of the leader · rank #49
50 Catawba College Salisbury · 1,376 students 1,376 6.54 21% of the leader · rank #50

19 additional nonzero-reporting campuses rank below this top-50 list in the same rate order.

Look up any campus via the Campus Safety Incident Tool or browse all schools.

Unranked campuses (87): zero score or no normalized rate

87 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 72 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
Aveda Institute-Chapel Hill Chapel Hill · 198 students 198 0.00
Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Charlotte Charlotte · 344 students 344 0.00
Beaufort County Community College Washington · 1,856 students 1,856 0.00
Beyond Measure Barbering Institute Mebane · 38 students 38 0.00
Bladen Community College Dublin · 1,173 students 1,173 0.00
Brunswick Community College Bolivia · 2,009 students 2,009 0.00
Bull City Durham Beauty and Barber College Durham · 41 students 41 0.00
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Concord · 924 students 924 0.00
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute Hudson · 3,914 students 3,914 0.00
Carolina Christian College Winston Salem · 71 students 71 0.00
Carolina College of Biblical Studies Fayetteville · 212 students 212 0.00
Carolina College of Hair Design Inc Asheville · 46 students 46 0.00
Carolina University Winston-Salem · 880 students 880 0.00
Carolinas College of Health Sciences Charlotte · 632 students 632 0.00
Center for Massage Asheville · 51 students 51 0.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in North Carolina by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: North Carolina State University at Raleigh (38,464); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (32,438); University of North Carolina at Charlotte (31,091), then 153 more. The 15 biggest North Carolina institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 26% of the 586,119 students enrolled across all 156 tracked North Carolina institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Edgecombe Community College (1,397 students, 0.00/1k).

10
Duke University Durham · 17,499 students
Enrollment
17,499
Incidents /1k
7.83
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh · 38,464 students 38,464 100% of the leader · rank #1 2.99
2 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill · 32,438 students 32,438 84% of the leader · rank #2 4.04
3 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte · 31,091 students 31,091 81% of the leader · rank #3 3.67
4 East Carolina University Greenville · 26,940 students 26,940 70% of the leader · rank #4 3.12
5 Wake Technical Community College Raleigh · 24,609 students 24,609 64% of the leader · rank #5 0.08
6 Appalachian State University Boone · 21,570 students 21,570 56% of the leader · rank #6 3.20
7 Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte · 20,375 students 20,375 53% of the leader · rank #7 0.15
8 University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington · 18,848 students 18,848 49% of the leader · rank #8 4.19
9 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro · 18,012 students 18,012 47% of the leader · rank #9 5.66
10 Duke University Durham · 17,499 students 17,499 45% of the leader · rank #10 7.83
11 North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro · 14,311 students 14,311 37% of the leader · rank #11 6.92
12 Cape Fear Community College Wilmington · 14,082 students 14,082 37% of the leader · rank #12 0.07
13 Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville · 11,755 students 11,755 31% of the leader · rank #13 0.00
14 Western Carolina University Cullowhee · 11,686 students 11,686 30% of the leader · rank #14 4.54
15 Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown · 11,485 students 11,485 30% of the leader · rank #15 0.52

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for North Carolina: closest on tracked campus count (156 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (2.22/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Virginia sits nearest on unweighted campus average (+0.01/1k). Inside North Carolina, open Cape Fear Community College's campus sheet next.

Cape Fear Community College profile → | All states → | North Carolina net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

North Carolina campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in North Carolina?

Among North Carolina campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Cape Fear Community College has the lowest rate (0.07 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: Wake Technical Community College (0.08/1k); Central Piedmont Community College (0.15/1k). 87 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Cape Fear Community College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.07/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in North Carolina are compared?

This page covers 156 tracked higher-education institutions in North Carolina, serving about 586,119 enrolled students combined across 89 cities. 69 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 87 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are North Carolina State University at Raleigh (38,464); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (32,438); University of North Carolina at Charlotte (31,091). Nearby state averages for context: Virginia (2.23/1k); Indiana (2.24/1k); New Hampshire (2.27/1k); Tennessee (2.31/1k); Wyoming (2.32/1k); California (2.11/1k).

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.