Spencer, NC crime & safety
Spencer's reported crime rate is well below North Carolina's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025.
Crime reported to police, trends and how Spencer compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
Not graded yet
A grade needs all of the FBI's latest years (2023–2025). Spencer's police department reported only 2025, so we don't grade it yet. The figures below are still real.
Spencer at a glance
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025
Show as a table
| Year | Spencer property | North Carolina property | Spencer violent | North Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.1 | 21 | 3 | 4.1 |
| 2023 | not reported | 21.1 | not reported | 4 |
| 2024 | not reported | 20.1 | not reported | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 9.6 | 18.1 | 0.9 | 3.3 |
2025, by type
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Local public safety
Spencer and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer | — | 0.9 | 9.6 | 2025 |
| Salisbury | D- | 5.9 | 35.4 | 2025 |
| East Spencer | — | 4.4 | 29.4 | 2023 |
What this data can and can't tell you
- It's reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many thefts and some assaults are never reported.
- Small numbers swing. In a town of about 3,400, a handful of incidents moves the rate noticeably from year to year. The trend matters more than any one year.
- Visitors count too. Towns with a campus, highway, beach or shopping center see incidents involving people who don't live there, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn't report a full year, not that nothing happened.
Mostly inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage here is higher than in 27% of U.S. communities. 2 flood insurance claims paid since 2020.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. This isn't an official statement of public safety — in an emergency, call 911.