The 20 Safest Places to Live in South Carolina

If you're planning to move to the state of South Carolina, you might be wondering about which cities are the best to live in. When it comes to safety ratings there are some significant differences from one area to another. The safest cities feature lower violent crime rates.. This is the main criteria that we used in making our assessment of how safe a city or town is to live in. We've gathered current facts and statistics from alarm.org, Safest cities in South Carolina in 2020, Niche.com Safe Places to live in South Carolina, and from Area Vibes to get a total picture of crime rates and other safety considerations. Here are the 20 safest cities to live in South Carolina.

20. Greer, South Carolina

Greer is a city with a population of 31,722 residents. It is the 20th safest city to live in South Carolina. It was reported that the city averages 134 violent crimes per year with 1144 property crimes for a total of 1,278 crimes committed in the past year. The city employs 79 law enforcement officers with 2.49 officers per 1,000 residents.

19. Moncks Corner, South Carolina

Moncks Corner is a city with a population of 11,484 residents. There were 69 violent crimes committed in the city and outlying areas in the past 12 months and 409 property crimes for a total of 477 crimes committed. The crime rate per 1,000 persons is 41.54. There are 477 law enforcement employees with 2.87 officers per 1,000 residents.

18. Greenville, South Carolina

Greenville has a population of 69,608 residents. In the past year there have been 368 violent crimes committed and 2,810 property crimes for a total of 3,178 crimes and an average of 45.66 crimes committed per 1,000 residents. The city employs 244 law enforcement officers for a total of 3.51 officers per 1,000 persons. This shows a high law enforcement presence in the city.

17. Beaufort, South Carolina

Beaufort has a smaller population of 13,920 residents. There were 81 recorded violent crimes committed in the past 12 months with 581 property crimes for a total of 662 total crimes committed. The crime rate per 1,000 persons is 47.56. There are 57 law enforcement officers in the city of Beaufort for a high percentage of 4.09 officers per 1,000 residents.

16. Cayce, South Carolina

Cayce has a population of 14,238. It is slightly larger than Beaufort, with 112 violent crimes committed in the past year and 661 property crimes for a total of 773 total crimes committed. The crime rate per 1,000 residents is 54.29. Cayce employs 82 law enforcement officers for a high representation of 5.76 officers per 1,000 in population.

15. Summerville, South Carolina

Summerville has a population of 51,565 residents with 140 violent crimes committed in the last 12 months and 1,740 property crimes for a total of 1,880 crimes committed. The city employs 133 law enforcement officers for a total of 2.58 officers per 1,000 population. The crime rate per 1,000 persons is 36.46 which is one of the lower overall crime rates in the state, even though the ratio of law enforcement is moderate to low.

14. North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

North Myrtle Beach has a population of 16,688 residents. Over the last year there were 105 violent crimes committed and 975 property crimes for a total of 1,080 crimes. The overall crime rate is 64.82 per 1,000 residents. The City employs 150 law enforcement officers for a total of 8.99 officers per 1,000 in population. This is a remarkably high representation of law enforcement in North Myrtle Beach.

13. Simpsonville, South Carolina

Simpsonville is a city with a population of 22,641 residents. From 2019 through 2020 there were 41 violent crimes committed and 694 property crimes for a total of 735 crimes committed. This is an average of 32.46 crimes committed per 1,000 residents, which is one of the lowest rates of incidence in the state. The city employs 52 law enforcement officers with a representation of 2.30 officers per 1,000 persons residing in the city.

12. North Augusta, South Carolina

North Augusta is a city with a population of 23,161 residents. Over the past 12 months there were 439 violent crimes committed and 662 property crimes for a total of 741 crimes. This is an overall crime rate of 40.41 per 1,000 persons. The city employs 89 law enforcement officers with a fairly high representation of 3.84 officers per 1,000 in population.

11. Lexington, South Carolina

The population of Lexington is 21,680 residents as of the last census. Over the last 12 months there has been 79 violent crimes committed and 662 property related crimes for a total of 741 crimes. Lexington employs 60 law enforcement officers with a representation of 2.77 officers per 1,000 residents. The overall crime rate for Lexington is 34.18 per 1,000 persons.

10. Goose Creek, South Carolina

The population of Goose Creek is 43,545 persons. From 2019 through 2020, there were 105 violent crimes committed and 955 property related crimes for a total of 1,060 crimes overall. The overall crime rate per 1,000 residents is low at 24.34. The city employs 93 law enforcement officers with a representation of 2.14 officers per 1,000 in population. Although the ratio of officers to citizens is relatively low, the crime rate is fairly low in comparison to other cities in the state.

9. Tega Cay, South Carolina

Tega Cay is a smaller city with a population of just 10,763 residents. There were only 7 violent crimes committed and 219 property related crimes for a total of just 28 crimes. The overall crime rate per 1,000 people is only 21.00. Tega Cay employs 28 law enforcement officers with a ratio of 2.60 officers per 1,000 people. It is the ninth safest place to live in the state of South Carolina.

8. Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a larger city with a dense metropolitan area and a population of 137,092 residents. Over the past year, there were 415 violent crimes committed and 2,848 property related crimes for a total of 3,263 crimes. This reflects a rate of 23.80 crimes per 1,000 in population, which is fairly remarkable for a larger city. Charleston employs 514 law enforcement officers for a high ratio of 3.75 officers per 1,000 persons.

7. Hanahan, South Carolina

The city of Hanahan has a population of 26,060 residents. From 2019 to 2020 there were 60 violent crimes committed and 346 property related crimes for a total of 406 crimes committed. Impressively, the average crime rate per 1,000 persons is a low 15.58. The city employs 42 law enforcement officers for a low ratio of 1.61 officers per 1,000 residents. This tells us that fewer officers are necessary to maintain law and order in Hanahan.

6. Mauldin, South Carolina

Mauldin has a population of 25,418 residents. Over the past 12 months, 42 violent crimes were committed along with 439 property crimes for a total of 481 crimes. The ratio of crimes committed in Mauldin is 18.92 per 1,000 in population, which similar to Hanahan, is impressively low. The city employs 63 law enforcement officers with a ratio of 2.48 officers per 1,000 persons.

5. Port Royal, South Carolina

The city of Port Royal is small in size with a population of only 13,227 residents. There were just 16 violent crimes committed over the past 12 months and 198 property related offenses for a total of 214 crimes. The overall crime rate is 16.18 per 1,000 residents which is low when compared to other cities in South Carolina. The city employs 24 law enforcement officers with a ratio of 1.81 officers per 1,000 in population. Although there are fewer officers to represent the number of residents, crime is still reasonably low, making it the fifth safest place to live in South Carolina with regards to the likelihood of becoming the victim of a violent or other type of crime. Port Royal has seen a 37% decrease in crime year over years and it has been given an A rating for safest cities in the United States. The city gets a D rating for its cost of living and amenities but the schools secure a B rating.

4. Fort Mill, South Carolina

The population of Fort Mill is 18,618. This is a moderately small community that experienced 31 violent crimes over the past 12 months, and 328 property related crimes for a total of 359 crimes. The overall crime rate is 19.28 per 1,000 persons. The violent crime rate is just 1.67 per 1,000 which means that the odds are against you becoming the victim of a violent crime. The city employs 56 law enforcement officers with a representation of 3.01 officers per 1,000 residents. The crime rates in Fort Mill are 45 percent lower than the average of the entire state of South Carolina. The cost of living is about 10 percent higher, but it gets a B+ for amenities with things to do and an A+ for the quality of the schools.

3. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Mount Pleasant's population is 89,733 residents. There were 138 violent crimes committed in the past year with 1,221 property crimes for a total of 1,359. Overall, the crime rate per 1,000 persons is 15.14. This is the number that qualifies Mount Pleasant as the third safest place to live in the state of South Carolina. The city employs 183 law enforcement officers for a representation of 2.04 officers for every thousand residents. The likelihood of becoming the victim of a violent crime in Mount Pleasant is 1.54 out of 1,000. Violent crimes are 60% lower than the national average. The schools get an A+ rating and the amenities are also ample. The cost of living however, is high.

2. Bluffton, South Carolina

The second safest place to live in the state of South Carolina is Bluffton. The city has a population of 22,578 residents. From 2019 to 2020, there were 50 violent crimes committed and 252 property crimes for a total of 302 crimes. The overall crime rate is a remarkably low 13.38 per 1,000 persons. The likelihood of becoming the victim of a violent crime is 2.21 per 1,000. The city employs 52 law enforcement officers wit a ratio of 2.30 officers for every 1,000 residents. Bluffton has crime rates that are 48 percent lower than the national average with violent crime rates 42 percent lower. The cost of living is high in the city, and the schools are ranked as a little above average, but the amenities get an A+.

1. Aiken, South Carolina

Aiken is a moderately average sized city with a population of 30,881 residents. Over the past 12 months, there were 120 violent crimes committed along with 255 property related crimes for a total of 375 crimes. Although the violent crime rate per 1,000 is 1,000, when combined with rates for property crimes, overall, the city has the lowest crime rate in the state with just 12.14 per 1,000 persons. What this means is that just a little over 12 people in a thousand will become the victim of a crime. The city employs 118 law enforcement officers for a ratio of 3.82 officers per 1,000 residents. The cost of living in Aiken is not as high as the other four cities in our top 5 safest cities in South Carolina, but it is still above average. The schools are ranked as slightly below average in quality, but the amenities in the city get an A_ with crime rates that are 66 percent lower than the average of the state as a whole.It's the safest city in South Carolina to live.