The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Camden, SC
Camden is a city of 21,500 in Kershaw County, about 30 miles northeast of downtown Columbia · Updated November 2026
Is Camden, SC safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Camden is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Camden sits near the middle: 45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Camden run from A+ to C-, so check the map 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 Camden as a whole, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Camden 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 Camden, SC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Camden, 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 Camden
Aggravated assault stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 1.2 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; Camden has 5.9.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages more often than nationally. In Camden, 53% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Camden
Nearly every part of Camden where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Camden run from A+ to C-; 30% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
99%
A or B 99%C 1%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Camden, the northwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Camden
CrimeGrade™ estimates Camden has about 57 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 53% more than the US as a whole and 27% more than 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Camden, about 41% of everything reported, and it also accounts for 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 Camden
Camden has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Camden, 47% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (56%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (53%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (46%)
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 Camden compares with nearby cities
Camden has the most crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Two things set Camden apart: it has 11.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson; here burglary and vandalism sit near the national middle.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.11.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 91% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 91% 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 and assault. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 87% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 86% 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.56% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 85% of US city residents
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 Camden: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Camden on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Camden
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Camden about $1,678 a year per household, 39% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $51 million a year, or $2,357 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.8 million
$128
Rape
$590,000
$27
Robbery
$210,000
$10
Assault
$6.3 million
$293
Burglary
$570,000
$27
Theft
$2.2 million
$102
Vehicle theft
$920,000
$43
Arson
$69,000
$3
Vandalism
$1.1 million
$50
Total
$15 million
$683
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 Camden 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 Camden, SC average a SchoolGrade of C-: 45% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Camden on SchoolGrade
