Property Crime per Capita in South Carolina
Property crime covers theft, burglary, vehicle theft, and arson, offenses against belongings rather than people. The map below shows the property crime rate per 1,000 South Carolina residents.
Safest
Highest crime
Colorblind friendly
off
D-
D |
|
Property Crime Grade |
D |
Other Crime Grade |
D- |
$865.7 million
Cost of Crime™ for South Carolina
In 2025, property crime will cost $411 per household.
On the map, green marks the parts of South Carolina with the least property crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Property crime is the most common category of crime, so these maps track closely with where stores, parking, and daytime foot traffic sit. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains why busy commercial blocks can look worse than the neighborhoods around them.
The D grade reflects how often theft, burglary, vehicle theft, and arson happen in South Carolina against the average US state, where the rate is higher than the norm. South Carolina sits in the 18th percentile for property-crime safety, ahead of 18% of states and behind 82%. The grade covers only South Carolina's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby states.
The property crime rate in South Carolina is 23.24 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally point to the north part of the state as the safest for their belongings. Your odds of a property-crime loss range from 1 in 33 in the northeast cities to 1 in 58 in the north.
Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the northwest parts of South Carolina report the most property crime, about 30,131 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 2,028 per year.
The Cost of Crime™ in South Carolina
Property crime in South Carolina is projected to cost $865,731,339 in 2025, about $163 per resident and $411 per household. That equals 0.4% of the median household income. All of it is measurable loss: replaced vehicles, repaired break-ins, stolen goods, and the policing and courts that respond. Because property crime leaves a repair bill rather than a lasting injury, these tangible costs make up its full economic toll. They split into:- Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 66.7%
- Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 27.2%
- Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 6.0%
How Much Does Property Crime Cost in South Carolina Compared to Other States?
| South Carolina: | $163 |
|---|---|
| Washington: | $259 |
| New Hampshire: | $64 |
| USA: | $136 |
Property crime costs $163 per resident each year in South Carolina, which is $27 more than the national average. The comparison below uses states similar to South Carolina:
- In Washington, crime costs $259 per person, which is $96 more than in South Carolina.
- In New Hampshire, crime costs $64 per person, which is $100 less than in South Carolina
2025 Projected Property Crime Cost by Type
The table below breaks the property-crime total into its four offenses for South Carolina, with the projected cost per resident.Crime |
Cost to South Carolina |
Cost per South Carolina Resident |
|---|---|---|
Vehicle Theft |
$212.1 million |
$40 |
Burglary |
$172.4 million |
$33 |
Theft |
$465.0 million |
$88 |
Arson |
$16.2 million |
$3 |
Total Cost of Property Crime |
$865,731,339 |
$163 |
How the Property Crime Cost Is Estimated
Property crime carries no pain-and-suffering figure in this model. Its cost is the replacement and repair value of what was taken or damaged, plus the policing, courts, and lost offender productivity that follow. Stolen and damaged property has a market price, which is why this total is easier to pin down than the human cost of violent crime in South Carolina. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.Interpreting the Property Crime Maps
Property crime rates are measured per resident, so places where shoppers and commuters outnumber residents read high. Stores are where shoplifting, theft, and vehicle break-ins happen, yet almost nobody lives there, so the per-capita rate climbs. How strongly this shows on the map depends on retail density; the northwest part of the state has more retail establishments. A red commercial strip does not mean the homes nearby are unsafe.
Parking lots and transit stops follow the same pattern: heavy daytime traffic, few residents, so per-capita property crime reads high. To judge a residential block, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.
The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in South Carolina at ISP Reports.South Carolina Property Crime Breakdown
The table below shows which non-violent crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grade above. All property crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 South Carolina residents in a standard year.
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Theft |
16.94 |
Vehicle Theft |
2.585 |
Burglary |
3.587 |
Arson |
0.1267 |
Total Property Crime |
23.24 (D) |
Individual South Carolina Crime Maps & Stats
Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby States
Compared to surrounding states, the rate of property crime in South Carolina is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for states close to South Carolina.
Nearby State | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
C- | C- | C- | |
B- | C+ | B | |
B- | B+ | B- | |
D | D- | D | |
A- | B+ | A | |
C+ | C+ | B | |
B- | A- | B | |
A+ | A- | A | |
F | F | F | |
C | C- | C+ |
Crime Maps and Rates for State with Similar Populations
South Carolina is higher versus other states of the same size for property crime. The table below compares crime in states with comparable overall population in the state‘s boundaries.
Similar State | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
B- | C | C | |
C+ | C+ | C+ | |
D+ | D- | D- | |
B- | A- | A- | |
D+ | C- | C- | |
B+ | B | B | |
A- | B- | B- | |
B | B+ | B+ | |
A- | B | B | |
B | A | A |
Considering only the property crime rate, South Carolina is as safe as the national average.
About the Data
CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.
Crime By Zip Code Download
Our proprietary data is available for download by zip code or by state in a CSV Flat File. Please visit our download page for pricing and terms.
Download CSV
Home Security
A crime occurs on average every 2 minutes in South Carolina. Want to protect your home?
Home Security Companies in South Carolina
All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.