The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Berkeley County, SC
Berkeley County is home to 246,800 residents and includes Goose Creek and Hanahan · Updated November 2026
Is Berkeley County, SC safe?
Yes, crime in Berkeley County is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Berkeley County sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 45% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Berkeley County run from A+ to D+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 811 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Berkeley County as a whole, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Berkeley County scores 811.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Berkeley County, SC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Berkeley County, 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 in Berkeley County
Burglaries run high for an A-graded county. Berkeley County has 3.0 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 1.4.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Berkeley County, 65% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
Robberies are uncommon. Berkeley County has robberies at less than half the US rate: 0.27 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Berkeley County
Most of Berkeley County grades well: 93% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Berkeley County run from A+ to D+; 42% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
93%
A or B 93%C 7%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Berkeley County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Charleston area has the least crime and the Goose Creek and Hanahan areas the most.
Crime rates and types in Berkeley County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Berkeley County has about 38 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to South Carolina.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Berkeley County is assault, about 41% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Berkeley County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Berkeley County, 2022 to 2024.
In Berkeley County, 67% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (67%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (65%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Homes (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (61%)
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.
How Berkeley County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Berkeley County, 6 have less crime. Calhoun County and Georgetown County have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Berkeley County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Berkeley County has more crime than 70% of them.
Two things set Berkeley County apart: it has 29 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and a Walk Grade of D- (8 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and robbery; here theft and robbery sit near the national middle.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 94% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.29 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 89% of Americans
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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 86% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 69% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Berkeley County: F (1 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 69% of Americans
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.80% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 61% of Americans
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 crime costs Berkeley County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Berkeley County about $1,337 a year per household, 11% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $114 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $390 million a year, or $1,579 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$29 million
$116
Rape
$4.0 million
$16
Robbery
$2.1 million
$8
Assault
$42 million
$169
Burglary
$6.8 million
$27
Theft
$15 million
$62
Vehicle theft
$7.7 million
$31
Arson
$620,000
$2
Vandalism
$7.5 million
$31
Total
$114 million
$463
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Berkeley County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Berkeley County, SC average a SchoolGrade of C-: 46% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Berkeley County on SchoolGrade
