The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in South Carolina
South Carolina is home to 5.30 million residents; Columbia is its capital and Charleston its largest city · Updated November 2026
Is South Carolina safe?
Yes, crime in South Carolina is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, South Carolina sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 45% of Americans live. It ranks 39th safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within South Carolina run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe counties and cities below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 812 of 1,00039th safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than South Carolina as a whole, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. South Carolina scores 812.
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 South Carolina at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South Carolina, 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 South Carolina
Thefts from cars happen at homes more often than nationally. In South Carolina, 58% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous counties and cities in South Carolina
Low crime is the norm across South Carolina: 89% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 6% in areas graded D or F. Grades across South Carolina run from A+ to F; 52% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
89%
A or B 89%C 5%D or F 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 46 counties, 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.
Cities of 10,000 or more 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.
Is crime going up in South Carolina?
Reported crime in South Carolina has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 13% and property crime down 32%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.1 to 4.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 30 to 20 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
South CarolinaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across South Carolina. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, South Carolina
Violent, US
Property, South Carolina
Property, US
2016
-0%
+4%
+11%
+15%
2017
-1%
+4%
+8%
+12%
2018
-2%
+0%
+4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+7%
+4%
-5%
-8%
2021
+2%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
-1%
+5%
-19%
-6%
2023
-6%
+2%
-24%
-7%
2024
-14%
-4%
-32%
-15%
Crime rates and types in South Carolina
CrimeGrade™ estimates South Carolina has about 45 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 20% more than the US as a whole.
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 South Carolina, about 38% 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 South Carolina
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across South Carolina, 2022 to 2024.
In South Carolina, 69% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (69%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (57%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (56%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (64%)
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 South Carolina compares with nearby states
South Carolina has more crime than 6 of its 9 nearest states. West Virginia and Kentucky have the least crime nearby.
Density, transit and empty homes in South Carolina
One thing sets South Carolina apart: it has 6% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery and car theft; here robbery and car theft sit near the national middle.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.6% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 96% 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 South Carolina: F (3 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 95% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.9.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% of Americans
Show all 4
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.64% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 88% 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 South Carolina
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs South Carolina about $1,467 a year per household, 22% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $3.00 billion 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 $10.78 billion a year, or $2,036 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$762 million
$144
Rape
$123 million
$23
Robbery
$60 million
$11
Assault
$1.07 billion
$203
Burglary
$144 million
$27
Theft
$420 million
$79
Vehicle theft
$184 million
$35
Arson
$15 million
$3
Vandalism
$222 million
$42
Total
$3.00 billion
$567
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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina average a SchoolGrade of C+: 51% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in South Carolina on SchoolGrade
