Charleston, SC Violent Crime Rates and Maps

D-

Violent Crime Grade	D
Property Crime Grade	D
Other Crime Grade	D-

Which crimes are included?

$251.9 million

Cost of Crime™ for Charleston, SC

In 2025, violent crime will cost $753 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of the Charleston area with the least violent crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Violent crime concentrates where people gather after dark, near nightlife, bars, and transit, more than on residential streets. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read those hot spots.

The D grade reflects how often assault, robbery, rape, and murder occur in the Charleston area against the average US city, where the rate is higher than the norm. Charleston sits in the 23rd percentile for violent-crime safety, ahead of 23% of cities and behind 77%. The grade covers only the Charleston area's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The violent crime rate in the Charleston area is 4.592 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the east part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 142 in the central neighborhoods to 1 in 329 in the east.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Charleston, SC report the most violent crime, about 920 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 126 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Charleston, SC

The tangible cost of violent crime in Charleston is projected at $251,933,583 for 2025, about $299 per resident and $753 per household. That equals 0.6% of the median household income, and it counts only the bills that can be totaled: emergency care, lost wages, and the justice response. The larger cost, the harm to victims, comes later on this page. These tangible costs split into:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 41.3%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 45.3%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 13.3%

How Much Does Violent Crime Cost in Charleston Compared to Other Cities?

Charleston, SC:	$299
Denmark, SC:	$1305
Little River, SC:	$116
South Carolina:	$378
USA:	$258

The tangible cost of violent crime is $299 per resident each year in Charleston, which is $40 more than the national average and $79 less than South Carolina's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Charleston:

In Denmark, SC, crime costs $1,305 per person, which is $1,006 more than in Charleston.
In Little River, SC, crime costs $116 per person, which is $183 less than in Charleston

2025 Projected Violent Crime Cost by Type

The table below breaks the violent-crime total into its four offenses for Charleston, with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Charleston	Cost per Charleston Resident
Murder	$122.6 million	$145
Rape/Sexual Assault	$36.5 million	$43
Robbery	$9.83 million	$12
Assault	$83.1 million	$99
Total Cost of Violent Crime	$251,933,583	$299

The Human Cost of Violent Crime in Charleston, SC

Much of what violent crime costs never reaches a bill. Pain, trauma, and lost quality of life for victims and their families typically outweigh the medical and legal totals above. Research-based methods put a figure on that harm so it can be compared across places. By those methods, the human cost of violent crime in Charleston totals $1,011,955,855 ($1,200 per resident). Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $1,263,889,438 ($1,499 per resident). This human toll is what sets violent crime apart from property crime in Charleston, SC, where the loss is mostly replaceable property. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Violent Crime Maps

Violent crime rates are measured per resident, so places packed with visitors after dark read high even when few people live there. Bars, clubs, event venues, and transit hubs draw the crowds where assaults and robberies cluster. How strongly this shows on the map depends on the commercial base; the central part of the city has more retail establishments. A red block full of bars and venues does not mean the homes around it are dangerous.

Transit stations show the same effect: large moving crowds, few residents, so per-capita violent crime reads high. Before judging a residential street, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total count of incidents, and note what draws crowds nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Charleston, SC at ISP Reports.

Charleston Violent Crime Breakdown

The table below shows which offenses feed the Violent Crime Grade above, each as crimes per 1,000 Charleston residents in a standard year.

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	3.431
Robbery	0.3706
Rape	0.7131
Murder	0.0774
Total Violent Crime	4.592 (D)

Individual Charleston Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of violent crime in the Charleston area is similar. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to the Charleston area.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Johns Island, SC	C-	C+	C
Fenwick Hills, SC	C-	B+	C-
Charleston Afb, SC	F	F	F
Sullivans Island, SC	D-	C	D
Red Top, SC	C	B-	B-
Folly Beach, SC	F	F	F
Mount Pleasant, SC	D	C+	D
Legareville, SC	F	D-	D-
Isle Of Palms, SC	D+	C+	C-
Ravenel, SC	D+	C-	D+

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Charleston is similar versus other cities of the same size for violent crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Dayton, OH	C-	C	C
Stockton, CA	D	F	F
Greensboro, NC	D+	C-	C-
Columbia, SC	D-	D-	D-
Sarasota, FL	A+	A-	A-
Boise, ID	B	B	B
Fort Myers, FL	A	B	B
Oxnard, CA	C	D+	D+
Colorado Springs, CO	D-	D+	D+
Baton Rouge, LA	D	D-	D-

Considering only the violent crime rate, the Charleston area is safer than the South Carolina state average and less safe than the national average.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.