Most rental investors track rent rates and vacancy numbers obsessively. Far fewer pay attention to the crime data that quietly shapes both of those metrics year over year. That’s a mistake, and the latest numbers out of Raleigh and Durham give us a compelling reason to take a closer look.
Raleigh Police just released their 2025 annual crime statistics, and the headline is straightforward: the Triangle is getting safer. Overall violent crime, including homicide, robbery, and assault, fell 1% from the prior year. More significantly, property crimes dropped 17%. Car thefts, which have been a persistent pain point in many metros, saw a 43% decline in the final quarter alone, with more than 300 vehicles recovered through a dedicated Auto Theft Task Force.
Durham is tracking the same direction. Mayor Leonardo Williams has credited a dual strategy of community outreach and targeted policing, including the city’s HEART program, which routes non-emergency 911 calls to appropriate responders rather than defaulting everything to police. That kind of smart resource allocation has freed law enforcement to focus on serious crimes while also building community trust.
Why This Is a Bigger Deal for Rental Investors Than Most Realize
Here’s what the typical landlord misses: neighborhood safety doesn’t just affect whether residents feel comfortable, it directly drives the quality of applicants you attract, your ability to hold rent rates, and your long-term vacancy costs.
Quality residents, the ones with strong income, stable employment, and a track record of caring for homes, have choices. They evaluate school districts, commute times, walkability, and yes, crime rates. When a market posts consecutive years of declining property crime, it expands the pool of high-quality applicants competing for available units. That competition is how owners maintain pricing power even in softer rental markets.
Contrast that with the inverse. Properties in high-crime corridors typically face a narrower applicant pool, longer days on market, and pressure to accept residents who don’t meet the quality bar you’d prefer. Vacancy at $60 to $100 per day is bad enough on its own, but filling a vacancy with the wrong resident can cost multiples of that number over a lease term through damage, disputes, and turnover.
Technology Is Doing More of the Heavy Lifting
One detail in the Raleigh data worth highlighting is the role of community-integrated camera programs. Mayor Janet Cowell noted that residents registering their Ring and doorbell cameras with RPD has helped investigators solve “almost 100% of homicides” in the city. That’s a remarkable statistic, and it signals something important: the line between private property security and community safety infrastructure is blurring.
For rental property owners, this is directly relevant. Exterior cameras, smart lighting, and ring-style doorbells at your properties aren’t just amenities anymore. They are contributing to a broader safety ecosystem that benefits the entire neighborhood. Residents increasingly expect them. Properties that offer visible, modern security features attract better applicants and reduce the likelihood of becoming a target in the first place.
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The Long-Term Compounding Effect
A market trending toward lower crime over five or more years compounds in ways that are hard to overstate. Retail follows rooftops into safer neighborhoods. Restaurants, services, and community amenities cluster into areas where foot traffic feels comfortable at night. Employers expand into metro areas with strong livability metrics. Each of those forces adds upward pressure on rents and property values in exactly the neighborhoods where the crime numbers are improving.
Raleigh and Durham aren’t anomalies. They are metros that have invested deliberately in community programs, mental health response, and policing strategy with measurable results. For mom-and-pop investors holding one to five properties in the Triangle, that’s a tailwind you didn’t have to pay for, but one you absolutely should factor into your long-term investment thesis.
The numbers are moving in your favor. Make sure your property is positioned to capture that upside.
To read more information, visit Raleigh crime | Is the Triangle getting safer? New crime statistics suggest so – ABC11 Raleigh-Durham.
