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 CollegeDallas · 6,443 students
Enrollment
6,443
Incidents /1k
0.16
24
Barton CollegeWilson · 1,235 students
Enrollment
1,235
Incidents /1k
2.43
50
Catawba CollegeSalisbury · 1,376 students
Enrollment
1,376
Incidents /1k
6.54
#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Cape Fear Community CollegeWilmington · 14,082 students14,0820.074% of the leader · rank #1
2Wake Technical Community CollegeRaleigh · 24,609 students24,6090.084% of the leader · rank #2
3Central Piedmont Community CollegeCharlotte · 20,375 students20,3750.154% of the leader · rank #3
4Gaston CollegeDallas · 6,443 students6,4430.164% of the leader · rank #4
5Catawba Valley Community CollegeHickory · 4,904 students4,9040.204% of the leader · rank #5
6Mitchell Community CollegeStatesville · 3,979 students3,9790.254% of the leader · rank #6
7Southeastern Baptist Theological SeminaryWake Forest · 3,220 students3,2200.314% of the leader · rank #7
8Blue Ridge Community CollegeFlat Rock · 2,723 students2,7230.374% of the leader · rank #8
9Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community CollegeAsheville · 6,510 students6,5100.464% of the leader · rank #9
10Southwestern Community CollegeSylva · 2,157 students2,1570.464% of the leader · rank #10
11Davidson-Davie Community CollegeThomasville · 4,305 students4,3050.464% of the leader · rank #11
12South Piedmont Community CollegePolkton · 4,013 students4,0130.504% of the leader · rank #12
13Pitt Community CollegeWinterville · 7,684 students7,6840.524% of the leader · rank #13
14Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestown · 11,485 students11,4850.524% of the leader · rank #14
15Wilson Community CollegeWilson · 1,832 students1,8320.554% of the leader · rank #15
16Alamance Community CollegeGraham · 4,827 students4,8270.624% of the leader · rank #16
17Southeastern Community CollegeWhiteville · 1,426 students1,4260.704% of the leader · rank #17
18Surry Community CollegeDobson · 2,796 students2,7960.724% of the leader · rank #18
19Montreat CollegeMontreat · 962 students9621.044% of the leader · rank #19
20Carteret Community CollegeMorehead City · 1,614 students1,6141.244% of the leader · rank #20
21Roanoke-Chowan Community CollegeAhoskie · 668 students6681.505% of the leader · rank #21
22Wilkes Community CollegeWilkesboro · 2,593 students2,5931.545% of the leader · rank #22
23Brevard CollegeBrevard · 875 students8752.297% of the leader · rank #23
24Barton CollegeWilson · 1,235 students1,2352.438% of the leader · rank #24
25Forsyth Technical Community CollegeWinston-Salem · 9,099 students9,0992.538% of the leader · rank #25
26Warren Wilson CollegeSwannanoa · 791 students7912.538% of the leader · rank #26
27Fayetteville State UniversityFayetteville · 7,107 students7,1072.679% of the leader · rank #27
28North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleigh · 38,464 students38,4642.9910% of the leader · rank #28
29East Carolina UniversityGreenville · 26,940 students26,9403.1210% of the leader · rank #29
30Elon UniversityElon · 7,239 students7,2393.1810% of the leader · rank #30
31Appalachian State UniversityBoone · 21,570 students21,5703.2010% of the leader · rank #31
32Meredith CollegeRaleigh · 1,465 students1,4653.4111% of the leader · rank #32
33Campbell UniversityBuies Creek · 4,963 students4,9633.6312% of the leader · rank #33
34University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlotte · 31,091 students31,0913.6712% of the leader · rank #34
35Wingate UniversityWingate · 3,458 students3,4583.7612% of the leader · rank #35
36University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill · 32,438 students32,4384.0413% of the leader · rank #36
37University of North Carolina WilmingtonWilmington · 18,848 students18,8484.1913% of the leader · rank #37
38Johnson & Wales University-CharlotteCharlotte · 1,184 students1,1844.2214% of the leader · rank #38
39North Carolina Wesleyan UniversityRocky Mount · 1,419 students1,4194.2314% of the leader · rank #39
40Mars Hill UniversityMars Hill · 1,110 students1,1104.5014% of the leader · rank #40
41Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee · 11,686 students11,6864.5415% of the leader · rank #41
42Lenoir-Rhyne UniversityHickory · 2,256 students2,2564.8816% of the leader · rank #42
43North Carolina Central UniversityDurham · 8,579 students8,5795.1316% of the leader · rank #43
44Livingstone CollegeSalisbury · 936 students9365.3417% of the leader · rank #44
45University of North Carolina School of the ArtsWinston Salem · 1,111 students1,1115.4017% of the leader · rank #45
46William Peace UniversityRaleigh · 722 students7225.5418% of the leader · rank #46
47University of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboro · 18,012 students18,0125.6618% of the leader · rank #47
48Belmont Abbey CollegeBelmont · 1,388 students1,3885.7619% of the leader · rank #48
49Queens University of CharlotteCharlotte · 1,599 students1,5996.2520% of the leader · rank #49
50Catawba CollegeSalisbury · 1,376 students1,3766.5421% 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.

#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
Aveda Institute-Chapel HillChapel Hill · 198 students1980.00
Aviation Institute of Maintenance-CharlotteCharlotte · 344 students3440.00
Beaufort County Community CollegeWashington · 1,856 students1,8560.00
Beyond Measure Barbering InstituteMebane · 38 students380.00
Bladen Community CollegeDublin · 1,173 students1,1730.00
Brunswick Community CollegeBolivia · 2,009 students2,0090.00
Bull City Durham Beauty and Barber CollegeDurham · 41 students410.00
Cabarrus College of Health SciencesConcord · 924 students9240.00
Caldwell Community College and Technical InstituteHudson · 3,914 students3,9140.00
Carolina Christian CollegeWinston Salem · 71 students710.00
Carolina College of Biblical StudiesFayetteville · 212 students2120.00
Carolina College of Hair Design IncAsheville · 46 students460.00
Carolina UniversityWinston-Salem · 880 students8800.00
Carolinas College of Health SciencesCharlotte · 632 students6320.00
Center for MassageAsheville · 51 students510.00

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 UniversityDurham · 17,499 students
Enrollment
17,499
Incidents /1k
7.83
#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleigh · 38,464 students38,464100% of the leader · rank #12.99
2University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill · 32,438 students32,43884% of the leader · rank #24.04
3University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlotte · 31,091 students31,09181% of the leader · rank #33.67
4East Carolina UniversityGreenville · 26,940 students26,94070% of the leader · rank #43.12
5Wake Technical Community CollegeRaleigh · 24,609 students24,60964% of the leader · rank #50.08
6Appalachian State UniversityBoone · 21,570 students21,57056% of the leader · rank #63.20
7Central Piedmont Community CollegeCharlotte · 20,375 students20,37553% of the leader · rank #70.15
8University of North Carolina WilmingtonWilmington · 18,848 students18,84849% of the leader · rank #84.19
9University of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboro · 18,012 students18,01247% of the leader · rank #95.66
10Duke UniversityDurham · 17,499 students17,49945% of the leader · rank #107.83
11North Carolina A & T State UniversityGreensboro · 14,311 students14,31137% of the leader · rank #116.92
12Cape Fear Community CollegeWilmington · 14,082 students14,08237% of the leader · rank #120.07
13Fayetteville Technical Community CollegeFayetteville · 11,755 students11,75531% of the leader · rank #130.00
14Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee · 11,686 students11,68630% of the leader · rank #144.54
15Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestown · 11,485 students11,48530% of the leader · rank #150.52

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.