J.C. Stribling Barn · Photo: KudzuVine · Public domainReported crime per resident in Clemson fell 28% from 2023 to 2025
Overall, Clemson grades C+ for safety (#19 of 87 graded towns in South Carolina): more crime per resident than 60% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported to the FBI in 2023–2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of SC” is every other South Carolina city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Clemson
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 3 South Carolina towns on Clemson’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Central (B−), Pendleton (C). Clemson University is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Among South Carolina towns, closer to the middle
South Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Clemson’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 78% of the 87 South Carolina towns we grade, against 40% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Clemson is home to Clemson University, with 26,630 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 39% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Clemson’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Clemson’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of South Carolina.
Show as a table
| Year | Clemson property | Rest of South Carolina property | Clemson violent | Rest of South Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 19.5 | 31.2 | 2.3 | 5.8 |
| 2023 | 19.7 | 30.5 | 1.1 | 5.6 |
| 2024 | 19.9 | 27.8 | 1.6 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 13.7 | 23.8 | 1.3 | 4.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Violent crime, by year and by type
Clemson’s police reported 72 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.2 in the rest of South Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Clemson | Rest of South Carolina | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.3 | 5.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.1 | 5.6 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.6 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.3 | 4.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 14 property crimes reported
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
282 crimes reported in 2025
24 violent and 258 property, as reported to the FBI by Clemson’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
Five people died in crashes on Clemson’s roads in 2019–2023
Clemson had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died.
That is about what is typical for South Carolina towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (8.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Clemson’s size would see about 8 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Clemson’s own rate (5.5) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Clemson and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | C+ | 1.3 | 17.7 |
| Clemson University | — | — | — |
| Central | B− | 0.7 | 14.2 |
| Pendleton | C | 3.0 | 18.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Clemson University is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
South Carolina towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | C+ | 1.3 | 17.7 |
| Port Royal | B− | 1.4 | 12.6 |
| Hardeeville | B− | 1.5 | 14.4 |
| Moncks Corner | C | 3.2 | 19.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach | D | 3.7 | 36.9 |
| West Columbia | D− | 6.5 | 43.1 |
The five graded South Carolina towns closest to Clemson’s population (18,941), by grade.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Clemson. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Clemson’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (18,832 in 2025); our figure for Clemson is 18,941 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Clemson
Is Clemson, SC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Clemson reports more crime per resident than 60% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #19 of 87 in South Carolina. Its police reported 1.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.2 in the rest of South Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Clemson?
1.3 violent and 17.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of South Carolina reports 5.2 and 27.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Clemson?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
Is Clemson safer than Central?
Central reports less crime per resident than Clemson: Central grades B− for safety and Clemson C+. Central’s police reported 0.7 violent and 14.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Clemson?
Clemson’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Clemson”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Clemson.
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.