The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in North Charleston, SC
North Charleston is the third-largest city in South Carolina, with 108,100 residents in Charleston County, about 11 miles northwest of downtown Charleston · Updated November 2026
Is North Charleston, SC safe?
Crime in North Charleston is high by national standards, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of C. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 86% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than North Charleston. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B- against D+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within North Charleston run from A+ to F, so check the map below.
C
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 394 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
14% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Charleston as a whole, and 86% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Charleston scores 394.
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 North Charleston, SC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Charleston, 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 North Charleston
Murder stands out among C-graded cities. For the typical resident of a C-graded US city, the figure is 0.06 murders a year per 1,000 residents; North Charleston has 0.20.
Thefts and aggravated assaults both run high. In North Charleston, each runs at more than double the US rate: 34.9 thefts and 6.7 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 2.6 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of North Charleston
Safety changes a lot from one part of North Charleston to the next: 34% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 29% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across North Charleston run from A+ to F; 3% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
34%37%29%
A or B 34%C 37%D or F 29%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within North Charleston, the west side has the least crime and the southeast side the most.
Is crime going up in North Charleston?
Reported crime in North Charleston has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 18% and property crime down 35%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 9.6 to 7.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 59 to 38 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 13% and property crime fell 18%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
North CharlestonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve North Charleston. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, North Charleston
Violent, US
Property, North Charleston
Property, US
2016
-6%
+4%
-5%
+15%
2017
-3%
+4%
-6%
+12%
2018
-3%
+0%
-2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+22%
+4%
-12%
-8%
2021
+9%
+6%
-13%
-10%
2022
-2%
+5%
-19%
-6%
2023
-5%
+2%
-22%
-7%
2024
-18%
-4%
-35%
-15%
Crime rates and types in North Charleston
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Charleston has about 94 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for 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 North Charleston, about 37% 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 North Charleston
North Charleston has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In North Charleston, 56% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 50% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
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 North Charleston compares with nearby cities
North Charleston has the most crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from North Charleston. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, North Charleston has more crime than 98% of them.
Two things set North Charleston apart: it has 97 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 18.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, and they run high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.97 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 96% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.18.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 95% 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. 76% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 60% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 87% 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.9.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 84% 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 North Charleston: D+ (19 of 100).2 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 57% 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 North Charleston
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs North Charleston about $3,238 a year per household, more than double the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $135 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 $491 million a year, or $4,543 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$39 million
$363
Rape
$4.2 million
$39
Robbery
$5.9 million
$54
Assault
$43 million
$399
Burglary
$3.6 million
$34
Theft
$19 million
$179
Vehicle theft
$9.7 million
$90
Arson
$470,000
$4
Vandalism
$9.1 million
$84
Total
$135 million
$1,247
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 North Charleston 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 North Charleston, SC average a SchoolGrade of D: 42% of students test proficient, against 31% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in North Charleston on SchoolGrade
