Is Charleston SC Safe?

As the city that has been voted time and time again as the best city in the US, Charleston, SC also has to pass the safety test for any new possible residents. That is, of course, one of the most important aspects for any family that is thinking of relocating somewhere else. The fact that this is the first and largest city in South Carolina and it has a touristic appeal with countless free things to do, Charleston, SC might sweep most people off their feet, but we’ll look at statistics over the last decade or so and see what we come up with. Afterwards you can decide whether to reach out to our real estate agents in Charleston SC to start your home search in this lovely city.

Safety&Crime rate in the present

The city of Charleston, SC has left quite an imprint on the country’s history of violence, especially in its early years. Since then however, and most especially over the last 15 years, there has been a drastic improvement in the way the city is seen in regards to safety. The frequency of violent or property crime has decreased since 2009 and the graphs show that while the nation’s statistics had also seen improvements since then, the drop in Charleston’s crime rates came as a great surprise. There was an overall improvement in Charleston’s safety by over 50% in these past 15 years and the current numbers show that the situation in Charleston, SC is better than the national average is.

Safer than the nation’s average

Considering the fact that the national average for overall crime is currently at 274 per 100,000 residents, what you have to know initially is that Charleston, SC had an average of 205.6 back in 2018, that being the last analyzed reports available. The improvement is felt by the city’s residents as 82.14% consider that the city is safe for walking alone during the day and 51.79% consider that it is safe to walk around the city alone even at night. The numbers for both violent and property crimes have been below the national average in 2018. With 183.1 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents and 167 property crimes for the same number of Charlestonians, the city of Charleston is becoming one of the safer cities around the US.