State crime profile · 2024

South Carolina Crime Rates: Safest & Most Dangerous Cities

Crime data for 149 cities and 44 of 46 counties in South Carolina (SC), ranked safest to most dangerous from 552 reporting agencies.

Data updated 2026-08-24

439.3
Violent / 100K
1,988.2
Property / 100K
149
Cities
44
Counties

South Carolina violent crime is 439.3 per 100,000, 25% above the U.S. average

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, South Carolina records 439.3 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 25% above the national average (about the 41st-safest of 51 states and D.C.). Statewide averages hide city and county variation; UCR participation is voluntary.

  • 439.3 violent crimes per 100K
  • +25% vs. the U.S. average
  • 1,113 Columbia violent-crime reports, volume #1 of 23
  • 1,480.1/100K Spartanburg rate #1 (volume #3)

How safe is South Carolina? FBI UCR data snapshot

South Carolina (SC) reported 24,069 violent crimes and 108,928 property crimes in 2024, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program submissions from 552 law enforcement agencies. That translates to a statewide violent crime rate of 439.3 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1988.2 per 100,000 against a reporting population of 5,478,831. The PlainCrime dataset indexes 149 South Carolina cities and 44 counties, each with their own detail pages and local crime figures drawn from FBI UCR Tables 8 and 10.

The FBI's state-level summary reports violent and property crime as aggregate totals rather than broken out by individual offense type (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson). For an offense-by-offense breakdown, see the individual city and county pages for South Carolina below, which draw on FBI UCR Tables 8 and 10 and do report each offense type separately.

Across 11 years of state-level UCR history (2014–2024), the violent crime rate moved from 491.3 to 439.3 per 100,000, a decline of 10.6%. City-level detail pages within South Carolina include safety grades (A+ to F), benchmarks against national averages, per-capita risk estimates, and multi-year trend tables for users comparing specific jurisdictions. All figures above are drawn from FBI UCR 2024 submissions; reporting completeness varies by agency, and the FBI periodically restates prior-year figures as late submissions arrive.

How South Carolina ranks nationally

South Carolina vs. every U.S. state

Violent crime per 100,000 residents, FBI UCR 2024. Lower is safer.

439 20th percentile among 51 U.S. states

SC 0 1,100+ every state & DC, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band of values; taller bars hold more U.S. states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · 2024

Safest cities · Most dangerous cities · Crime trends

Crime Trends

Year Population Violent Crime Rate Property Crime Rate
2024 5,478,831 24,069 439.3 108,928 1988.2
2023 5,373,555 25,624 476.9 120,486 2242.2
2022 5,282,634 26,333 498.5 124,144 2350
2021 5,190,705 26,636 513.1 130,274 2509.8
2020 5,218,040 27,371 524.5 140,993 2702
2019 5,148,714 25,850 502.1 148,813 2890.3
2018 5,084,127 25,087 493.4 154,219 3033.3
2017 5,024,369 25,150 500.6 159,010 3164.8
2016 4,961,119 24,974 503.4 161,187 3249
2015 4,896,146 24,025 490.7 161,063 3289.6
2014 4,832,482 23,740 491.3 166,526 3446

Cities in South Carolina

Safest cities in South Carolina

Cities with 25,000+ residents, lowest violent crime per 100,000, FBI UCR 2024. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K

What this shows North Augusta is the safest sizeable city in South Carolina, at 34.1 violent crimes per 100,000.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024

Highest violent-crime cities in South Carolina

Cities with 25,000+ residents, highest violent crime per 100,000, FBI UCR 2024. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K

What this shows Spartanburg reports the highest big-city violent-crime rate in South Carolina, at 1,480.1 per 100,000.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024

Columbia recorded 1,113 violent-crime reports (#1 of 23) at 769.9 per 100,000 (rate #6). Spartanburg recorded 580 (#3) at 1,480.1 per 100,000 (#1). These are FBI UCR 2024 agency submissions, not a personal risk forecast.

Volume #1 is not rate #1 among South Carolina cities

Violent-crime rate per 100,000 for the count leader and the rate leader among cities with 25,000+ residents, FBI UCR 2024. Each tooltip identifies the relevant rate or volume rank; chart row is not a state rank.

/100K

What this shows Columbia recorded 1,113 violent-crime reports (#1 of 23) at 769.9 per 100,000 (rate #6). Spartanburg recorded 580 (#3) at 1,480.1 per 100,000 (#1). These are FBI UCR 2024 agency submissions, not a personal risk forecast.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024
South Carolina's largest cities, violent vs. property crime. X axis violent crime per 100K, Y axis property crime per 100K, split by the national averages. 14 cities; the anchor is ringed. South Carolina's largest cities, violent vs. property crime 107 1,599 Violent crime per 100K → 743 6,108 Property crime per 100K → Charleston Columbia North Charleston Mount Pleasant SAFEST HIGHEST CRIME Safety grade A / B C D / F
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are South Carolina's statewide averages · the four largest cities are labeled
City Population Violent / 100K Grade
Charleston 156,898 357.6 C
Columbia 144,559 769.9 F
North Charleston 123,511 810.5 F
Mount Pleasant 96,608 128.4 A
Rock Hill 75,975 440.9 D
Greenville 73,405 644.4 F
Summerville 52,148 222.4 B
Goose Creek 50,294 256.5 B
Greer 47,690 343.9 C
Sumter 42,551 1,097.5 F
Myrtle Beach 41,022 1,111.6 F
Florence 40,781 806.7 F
Spartanburg 39,186 1,480.1 F
Bluffton 37,927 118.6 A
Fort Mill 37,027 45.9 A+
Aiken 33,221 568.9 F
Anderson 30,150 560.5 F
Mauldin 29,180 219.3 B
Conway 29,015 444.6 D
Simpsonville 28,952 214.1 C
Easley 27,617 239 B
North Augusta 26,377 34.1 A+
Lexington 25,359 118.3 A
Greenwood 22,478 484.9 F
Hanahan 22,205 225.2 B
North Myrtle Beach 20,790 360.8 D
West Columbia 18,591 747.7 F
Clemson 17,867 162.3 B
Moncks Corner 17,854 336.1 C
Port Royal 16,931 129.9 A
Tega Cay 14,456 27.7 A+
Fountain Inn 13,996 78.6 A
Beaufort 13,937 696 F
Hardeeville 13,740 160.1 B
Cayce 13,628 733.8 F
Orangeburg 13,320 1,246.2 F
Gaffney 12,399 225.8 C
Irmo 12,178 238.1 B
Newberry 10,926 585.8 F
Forest Acres 10,309 291 C
York 9,366 726 F
Lancaster 9,305 1,063.9 F
Laurens 9,263 928.4 F
Seneca 9,106 615 F
Travelers Rest 9,088 264.1 C
Georgetown 8,823 850.1 F
Camden 8,651 947.9 F
Union 7,795 975 F
Clinton 7,743 1,278.6 F
Clover 7,624 144.3 A
Hartsville 7,389 1,745.8 F
Lyman 6,886 203.3 B
Bennettsville 6,430 995.3 F
Dillon 6,240 2,371.8 F
Marion 6,123 881.9 F
Darlington 6,013 1,130.9 F
Lake City 5,937 1,802.3 F
Walterboro 5,465 1,006.4 F
Central 5,340 56.2 A
Batesburg-Leesville 5,309 772.3 F
Chester 5,212 1,554.1 F
Cheraw 4,984 1,163.7 F
Abbeville 4,863 370.1 C
Woodruff 4,689 383.9 C
Duncan 4,560 416.7 C
Barnwell 4,554 1,207.7 F
Isle of Palms 4,377 137.1 A
Surfside Beach 4,377 228.5 B
Williamston 4,275 678.4 F
Walhalla 4,239 235.9 B
Honea Path 3,902 692 F
Mullins 3,845 1,586.5 F
Manning 3,782 1,031.2 F
Ridgeland 3,751 426.6 D
Wellford 3,723 107.4 A
Pendleton 3,711 296.4 C
Pickens 3,388 295.2 C
Inman 3,334 359.9 C
Liberty 3,290 304 B
Burnettown 3,235 30.9 A
Denmark 3,077 650 F
Saluda 3,054 327.4 C
Kingstree 3,021 1,191.7 F
Bamberg 2,959 1,723.6 F
Loris 2,851 420.9 D
Williston 2,851 561.2 F
Bishopville 2,819 815.9 F
Landrum 2,769 216.7 B
Springdale 2,714 552.7 F
Hampton 2,579 620.4 F
Pacolet 2,543 314.6 C
Andrews 2,532 710.9 F
Pageland 2,514 1,949.1 F
Westminster 2,433 205.5 B
Allendale 2,430 2,263.4 F
South Congaree 2,389 209.3 B
New Ellenton 2,357 212.1 B
Pine Ridge 2,332 42.9 A
Cowpens 2,247 356 C
Timmonsville 2,106 569.8 F
Showing the 100 largest of 149 reporting cities. Browse all 149 cities → Or see the safest and most dangerous rankings.

Counties in South Carolina

44 of 46 Census county-equivalents (95.7%) appear in FBI Table 10 for this vintage. Missing counties are absent from the FBI source for this year, not dropped by PlainCrime. See national county coverage and methodology.

Largest counties in South Carolina, violent crime per 100K

Top 8 counties by population, violent crime per 100,000 residents. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K
Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024
Abbeville
Aiken
Allendale
Anderson
Bamberg
Barnwell
Beaufort
Berkeley
Charleston
Cherokee
Chester
Chesterfield
Clarendon
Colleton
Darlington
Dillon
Dorchester
Edgefield
Fairfield
Florence
Georgetown
Greenville
Greenwood
Hampton
Horry
Jasper
Lancaster
Laurens
Lee
Lexington
Marion
Marlboro
McCormick
Newberry
Oconee
Orangeburg
Pickens
Richland
Saluda
Spartanburg
Sumter
Union
Williamsburg
York

Nationwide peers for South Carolina

Similar violent rate (~439.3/100K)

Similar property rate (~1,988.2/100K)

Nearby States

Pennsylvania
PA
Rhode Island
RI
South Dakota
SD
Tennessee
TN
Texas
TX

Safest cities · Most dangerous · Trends · National rankings · Crime grades · Compare · Methodology

Primary source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, Crime in the United States annual release. State-level trends cross-check against the FBI Crime Data Explorer (CDE) API.

Population figures for rate calculations reference U.S. Census Bureau estimates where FBI-reported populations are unavailable. Verify with Census.gov QuickFacts.

Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Every figure on PlainCrime is rendered directly from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.