Three Points is a neighborhood of 3,280 residents in Columbia, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Three Points in Columbia safe?
Crime in Three Points is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of D. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 90% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Three Points. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, C against D-. Columbia as a whole grades B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Three Points run from B- to F, so check the map below.
D
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 223 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
10% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Three Points as a whole, and 90% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Three Points scores 223.
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 Three Points, Columbia, SC at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Three Points in Columbia, 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 Three Points
Burglaries run high. Three Points has burglaries at about triple the US rate: 7.2 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Three Points
CrimeGrade™ estimates Three Points has about 65 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 74% more than the US as a whole and 22% more than Columbia 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 Three Points, about 33% 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 Columbia
The Columbia Police Department polices Three Points; these figures cover Columbia as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Columbia as a whole, 68% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 42% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (68%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (32%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (54%)
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 Three Points compares with nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to Three Points, 8 have less crime. White Grove and The Congaree Vista have the least.
Empty homes, tree cover and walkability in Three Points
Two things set Three Points apart: it has 17.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and tree cover over 36% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.17.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.36% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 96% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 98% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 96% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.3.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 88% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Three Points
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Three Points about $1,971 a year per household, 63% 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 $12 million a year, or $3,727 per resident.
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 Three Points 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 Three Points, Columbia, SC average a SchoolGrade of F: 31% of students test proficient, against 22% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Three Points on SchoolGrade
