The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Port Royal, SC
Port Royal is a town of 15,300 in Beaufort County, about 15 miles north of downtown Hilton Head Island · Updated November 2026
Is Port Royal, SC safe?
Yes, crime in Port Royal is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Port Royal sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 48% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Port Royal run from A to B-, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 829 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Port Royal as a whole, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Port Royal scores 829.
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 Port Royal, SC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Port Royal, 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 Port Royal
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Port Royal, 57% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Port Royal
Every part of Port Royal where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Port Royal run from A to B-; 34% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Port Royal, the south side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Port Royal?
Reported crime in Port Royal has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 54% and property crime down 28%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.1 to 1.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 18 to 13 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Port RoyalUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Port Royal. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Port Royal
Violent, US
Property, Port Royal
Property, US
2016
-17%
+4%
+27%
+15%
2017
+29%
+4%
+36%
+12%
2018
-49%
+0%
-12%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-14%
+4%
-19%
-8%
2021
+8%
+6%
-24%
-10%
2022
-23%
+5%
-38%
-6%
2023
-46%
+2%
-30%
-7%
2024
-54%
-4%
-28%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Port Royal
CrimeGrade™ estimates Port Royal has about 28 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 24% less than the US as a whole and 37% less 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.
Theft makes up about 42% of crime reported in Port Royal. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 Port Royal
Port Royal has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Port Royal, 51% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (51%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (57%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (45%)
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 Port Royal compares with nearby cities
Port Royal has less crime than 4 of its 7 nearest cities.
One thing sets Port Royal apart: it has 18 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and robbery, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.18 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 89% 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 Port Royal: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 69% of US city residents
Show all 6
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.73% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 76% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 70% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 67% 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 Port Royal
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Port Royal about $1,061 a year per household, 12% less 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 $14 million a year, or $947 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$980,000
$64
Rape
$340,000
$23
Robbery
$52,000
$3
Assault
$1.5 million
$100
Burglary
$170,000
$11
Theft
$920,000
$60
Vehicle theft
$160,000
$11
Arson
$12,000
$1
Vandalism
$390,000
$25
Total
$4.6 million
$298
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 Port Royal 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 Port Royal, SC average a SchoolGrade of D+: 44% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Port Royal on SchoolGrade
