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Dec. 14. The most recent FBI Crime Report says Davidson is among the Top 10 safest cities in North Carolina. A total of 115 communities with populations of at least 5,000 were examined in a recent report from ValuePenguin, a consumer research company that looked at FBI statistics like violent crime and property crime.

Small does not necessarily mean safe. The five least safest communities had populations between 5,000 and 25,000. The sixth-largest city in the research, Cary, ranked as the eighth-safest place overall. ValuePenguin broke down North Carolina cities into three categories: Small, medium and large.

Cornelius was the fourth-safest “large city” in the ValuePenguin study, ranking fourth, behind Holly Springs, Apex and Cary. No. 5 on the large city list was Huntersville; No. 10 was Concord. On the overall safest cities list, Cornelius ranked 12th.

Among all NC cities, regardless of size, here are the five safest:

1. Pinehurst

Pinehurst offers safety to people and their property. This community, known to golf fans as the home of the famous Pinehurst Resort, had the lowest rate of violent crime and the lowest rate of property crime of any city in North Carolina. In fact, Pinehurst was the only city in this research with a crime score under 400. Both the police and fire departments have won numerous awards for achievements in public safety.

2. Elon

Elon (population of 9,537) is the smallest community in the top five. It is an approximately 27-minute drive from Greensboro, NC and is home to a university of the same name. It had the third-lowest rate of violent crime and the fifth-lowest rate of property crime of any city in this research. Due to its college town flavor, it had a median household income below the average for North Carolina.

3. Holly Springs

The safest large community ranked third in this research. In addition to a low rate of violent crime, it had the second-lowest rate of property crime in this research. It is approximately 20 miles from the state capital of Raleigh. Holly Springs is an affluent city where almost 55% of the residents over 25 have at least a bachelor’s degree, and the median household income is nearly $92,000.

4. Waxhaw

This town, whose motto is ‘Proud of Our Past… Passionate About Our Future,’ came in at number four. The police department encourages a partnership between itself and the community. This approach has been fruitful. Waxhaw had the third-lowest rate of property crime in addition to a low rate of violent crime. This community, located approximately 30 miles from Charlotte, had a median household income approximately $28,000 above the average for North Carolina.

5. Davidson

Davidson is the second college town in the top five. The police department’s core values of treating everyone equally and partnering with the community to prevent crime have paid off for Davidson’s residents and businesses. It had the fourth-lowest rate of property crime for North Carolina cities, and Davidson reported a mere eight violent crimes in 2014. This town, located 22 miles from Charlotte had a median household income double that of North Carolina and a very high percentage of residents (66%) with a college degree.

Full List of Places in North Carolina

Below is the entire list of places that we included in our “Safest Places in North Carolina” study. They are listed from the safest to the least safe, according to our analysis. The calculation for the crime scores can be found in the methodology section below. Take a look at the graph and see where your hometown ranks.