The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Lancaster, SC
Lancaster is a city of 50,300 in Lancaster County, about 35 miles south of downtown Charlotte · Updated November 2026
Is Lancaster, SC safe?
Crime in Lancaster is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 62% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Lancaster. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Lancaster run from A+ to F, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 767 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
38% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Lancaster as a whole, and 62% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lancaster scores 767.
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 Lancaster, SC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lancaster, 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 Lancaster
Robberies are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Lancaster runs 27% above the US rate, but robberies run at less than half that rate: 0.24 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Lancaster, 64% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Lancaster
Most of Lancaster grades well: 84% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 9% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Lancaster run from A+ to F; 59% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
84%
A or B 84%C 7%D or F 9%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Lancaster, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Lancaster
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lancaster has about 47 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 27% more than 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 Lancaster is assault, about 39% 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 Lancaster
Lancaster has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Lancaster, 83% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (83%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (64%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (59%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (59%)
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 Lancaster compares with nearby cities
Lancaster has the most crime of its 3 nearest cities.
Night lighting, walkability and density in Lancaster
Two things set Lancaster apart: it has 42% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (7 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, yet theft and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.
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.42% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 90% 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. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 85% 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.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Lancaster: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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.9.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 79% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.29 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 73% 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 crime costs Lancaster
Crime costs Lancaster about $1,673 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 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 $120 million a year, or $2,377 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$8.8 million
$176
Rape
$2.0 million
$40
Robbery
$370,000
$7
Assault
$11 million
$215
Burglary
$1.4 million
$27
Theft
$4.4 million
$87
Vehicle theft
$1.3 million
$26
Arson
$100,000
$2
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$44
Total
$31 million
$624
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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster, SC average a SchoolGrade of B-: 51% of students test proficient, against 35% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Lancaster on SchoolGrade
