Thunderbolt is a town of 2,990 in Chatham County, about 4 miles southeast of downtown Savannah · Updated November 2026
Is Thunderbolt, GA safe?
Crime in Thunderbolt is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 62% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Thunderbolt. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against B+. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 766 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
38% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Thunderbolt as a whole, and 62% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Thunderbolt scores 766.
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 Thunderbolt, GA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Thunderbolt, 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
Crime rates and types in Thunderbolt
CrimeGrade™ estimates Thunderbolt has about 42 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 12% more than the US as a whole and close to Georgia.
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 Thunderbolt, about 49% 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.
The Thunderbolt Police Department's 2024 count of simple assault fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting gap, so CrimeGrade™ used its own estimate instead. The department's 2024 count of theft fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead.
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 Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 95% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Theft from cars
Homes (95%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Thunderbolt compares with nearby cities
Of the 7 cities closest to Thunderbolt, 5 have less crime. Skidaway Island and Wilmington Island have the least.
Two things set Thunderbolt apart: it has 11.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 5 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and theft runs high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.11.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 90% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.61 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 76% 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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 56% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 72% 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 Thunderbolt: F (4 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 71% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 68% 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 Thunderbolt
Crime costs Thunderbolt about $1,108 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 8% 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 $3.7 million a year, or $1,245 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$310,000
$105
Rape
$41,000
$14
Robbery
$27,000
$9
Assault
$500,000
$168
Burglary
$30,000
$10
Theft
$250,000
$84
Vehicle theft
$82,000
$27
Arson
$2,800
$1
Vandalism
$27,000
$9
Total
$1.3 million
$426
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 Thunderbolt 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 Thunderbolt, GA average a SchoolGrade of D+: 28% of students test proficient, against 39% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Thunderbolt on SchoolGrade
