Photo: David G. Simpson · Public domainMore crimes per resident are recorded in South Charleston than in 97% of U.S. towns
Both towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Add to that, typical years here bring 5.0 violent crimes plus 51.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 4.0 plus 23.6 in the rest of West Virginia. Measured on crimes South Charleston’s police reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of D−.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of WV” is every other West Virginia 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 South Charleston
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 2 West Virginia towns on South Charleston’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Dunbar (C−), Charleston (D). Neighbors ↓
A college town
South Charleston is home to BridgeValley Community & Technical College, with 1,400 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 1% 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 ↓
A job center
South Charleston has 13,641 jobs based in town for 13,072 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind South 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.
Crime in South 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 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | South Charleston | Rest of West Virginia | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South Charleston’s police reported 195 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.0 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of West Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | South Charleston property | Rest of West Virginia property | South Charleston violent | Rest of West Virginia violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 46.4 | 27.5 | 6.2 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 46.7 | 24.9 | 5.6 | 4.6 |
| 2024 | 55.2 | 23.4 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| 2025 | 53.5 | 22.4 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of West Virginia.
755 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.
58 violent and 697 property, as reported to the FBI by South Charleston’s police.
13 people died in crashes on South Charleston’s roads in 2019–2023
South Charleston had 12 fatal crashes in five years, in which 13 people died; 1 was a pedestrian. 2 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 19.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for West Virginia towns of 5,000–25,000 people (10.2, 26 towns).
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.
South Charleston and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Charleston | D− | 5.0 | 51.8 |
| Charleston | D | 5.7 | 34.6 |
| Dunbar | C− | 3.8 | 18.4 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
West Virginia towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Charleston | D− | 5.0 | 51.8 |
| St. Albans | C | 2.2 | 22.6 |
| Fairmont | C− | 5.1 | 12.7 |
| Clarksburg | C− | 3.3 | 25.1 |
| Vienna | C− | 1.4 | 34.7 |
| Beckley | D− | 6.5 | 73.4 |
The five graded West Virginia towns closest to South Charleston’s population (13,072), 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 South Charleston. 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 South Charleston’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (13,017 in 2025); our figure for South Charleston is 13,072 (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 South Charleston
Is South Charleston, WV safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South Charleston reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 5.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of West Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in South Charleston?
5.0 violent and 51.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of West Virginia reports 4.0 and 23.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is South Charleston safer than Charleston?
Charleston reports less crime per resident than South Charleston: Charleston grades D for safety and South Charleston D−. Charleston’s police reported 5.7 violent and 34.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South Charleston?
South Charleston’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South Charleston”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in South 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.