Photo: John Rutledge Smith · Public domainMore crimes per resident are recorded in North Charleston than in 97% of U.S. towns
The rate the grade counts dropped 27% from 2023 to 2025. Measured on crimes North Charleston’s police reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of D−: #64 of 87 graded towns in South Carolina, and #287 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Behind the grade sit 8.0 violent crimes and 40.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 5.0 and 26.3 in the rest of South Carolina. All 3 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident.
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 North Charleston
3 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 South Carolina towns on North Charleston’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Hanahan (B−), Goose Creek (C+), Charleston (C−). Ladson is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Summerville reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Neighbors ↓
Among South Carolina towns, closer to the middle
South Carolina’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so North Charleston’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 26% of the 87 South Carolina towns we grade, against 3% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
North Charleston’s police reported 14 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 17.5 per 100,000 residents a year, 2.1 times the rest of South Carolina (8.5) and 3.1 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 2.6 times the rest of South Carolina
131 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (134 reported in 2025), 2.6 times the rest of South Carolina (50.4) and 1.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, North Charleston reports less crime per resident than 12% (#287). Places like it ↓
A job center
North Charleston has 105,850 jobs based in town for 129,245 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. 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 North Charleston’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | North Charleston property | Rest of South Carolina property | North Charleston violent | Rest of South Carolina violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 48.1 | 29.9 | 9.4 | 5.5 |
| 2023 | 46.7 | 29.2 | 9.2 | 5.3 |
| 2024 | 39.6 | 26.9 | 8.1 | 5.2 |
| 2025 | 34.2 | 22.9 | 6.7 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | North Charleston | Rest of South Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 27.7 | 13.5 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 25.0 | 9.5 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 17.0 | 8.9 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 10.9 | 6.9 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | North Charleston | Rest of South Carolina | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 191 | 53.1 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 137 | 58.7 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 153 | 51.7 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 104 | 40.8 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
North Charleston’s police reported 14 homicides, 134 robberies and 858 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of South Carolina and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Crime in North Charleston per 1,000 residents
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.
And about 7 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
5,262 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
858 violent and 4,404 property, as reported to the FBI by North Charleston’s police.
134 people died in crashes on North Charleston’s roads in 2019–2023
North Charleston had 124 fatal crashes in five years, in which 134 people died; 38 were pedestrians and 10 were cyclists. 25 died in crashes on an Interstate.
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.
North Charleston and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Charleston | D− | 8.0 | 40.0 |
| Charleston | C− | 3.5 | 18.7 |
| Ladson | — | — | — |
| Summerville | — | — | — |
| Hanahan | B− | 2.2 | 12.0 |
| Goose Creek | C+ | 2.6 | 14.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Ladson is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Summerville reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
South Carolina towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Charleston | D− | 8.0 | 40.0 |
| Mount Pleasant | B− | 1.3 | 11.6 |
| Rock Hill | C− | 4.5 | 24.0 |
| Greenville | D | 5.7 | 33.5 |
| Columbia | D | 7.7 | 32.7 |
The five graded South Carolina towns closest to North Charleston’s population (129,245), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
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 North Charleston. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against North Charleston’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (128,751 in 2025); our figure for North Charleston is 129,245 (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 North Charleston
Is North Charleston, SC safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, North Charleston reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #64 of 87 in South Carolina. Its police reported 8.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of South Carolina and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in North Charleston?
8.0 violent and 40.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of South Carolina reports 5.0 and 26.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in North Charleston in 2025?
North Charleston’s police reported 14 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 10.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is North Charleston safer than Charleston?
Charleston reports less crime per resident than North Charleston: Charleston grades C− for safety and North Charleston D−. Charleston’s police reported 3.5 violent and 18.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices North Charleston?
North Charleston’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “North Charleston”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in North Charleston.
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.