Forest Acres is a city of 11,300 in Richland County, about 4 miles northeast of downtown Columbia · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Forest Acres?
Property crime in Forest Acres runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 65% of Americans live. Theft makes up 72% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B+, and vehicle theft grades A.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 716 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Forest Acres as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Forest Acres scores 716.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Forest Acres, SC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Forest Acres, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Forest Acres
Theft at more than double the US rate. Forest Acres has 31.3 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Forest Acres
Low property crime is the norm across Forest Acres: 91% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Property crime grades across Forest Acres run from A- to C-.
91%
A or B 91%C 9%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Forest Acres?
Reported property crime in Forest Acres has fallen 46% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 58 to 32 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Forest AcresUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Forest Acres. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Forest Acres
Property, US
2016
-13%
+15%
2017
-1%
+12%
2018
+2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-12%
-8%
2021
-28%
-10%
2022
-41%
-6%
2023
-46%
-7%
2024
-46%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Forest Acres
CrimeGrade™ estimates Forest Acres has about 44 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 84% more than the US as a whole and 63% more than South Carolina.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Forest Acres, about 72% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
The Forest Acres Police Department's 2024 count of burglary fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Forest Acres
Forest Acres has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Forest Acres, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 62% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (62%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Forest Acres and nearby cities
Forest Acres has less property crime than 6 of its 8 nearest cities; only Killian and Springdale have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Forest Acres. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Forest Acres has more property crime than 97% of them.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in Forest Acres
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, one sets Forest Acres apart: it has 22.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.22.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 71% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 66% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.58 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 74% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.7.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 68% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 67% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Forest Acres
Property crime costs Forest Acres about $3.1 million a year, or $277 per resident and about $567 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$390,000
$35
Theft
$1.8 million
$161
Vehicle theft
$410,000
$36
Arson
$19,000
$2
Vandalism
$490,000
$44
Total
$3.1 million
$277
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
