Safest Counties in South Carolina: 22 Ranked (2026)
The 22 South Carolina counties where police report enough to the FBI to build a reliable rate, ranked by violent crime, with home prices, asking rents and incomes where available.
South Carolina has 46 counties. Twenty-two of them clear the reporting bar this page uses, and the gap between the quietest, Beaufort at 184 violent offenses per 100,000, and the busiest, Orangeburg at 982, is 5.3 to one. Beside each rate sits what homes there closed at over the last 12 months, from 98,007 closing records Resideline tracked across all 22 counties.
The crime rates here are built from the 4,482,748 residents those police agencies actually report on, over the months they reported. Each figure is a single county-wide figure, so treat this as a way to narrow a search rather than a verdict on any street.
We do not treat missing or conflicting crime data as zero. A county appears here only when its reporting clears our reliability threshold, and we set aside results that conflict materially with the state's own records. Whether a county is ranked depends on its crime reporting alone; whether it shows a price depends on whether Resideline tracked enough closings there.
The ranking
| # | County | Violent per 100k | Property per 100k | Median closed price | Median asking rent | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beaufort | 184 | 966 | $559,973 | $2,400 | $91,129 |
| 2 | Pickens | 190 | 1,104 | $284,900 | $1,455 | $65,163 |
| 3 | York | 241 | 1,281 | $400,000 | $1,775 | $94,037 |
| 4 | Cherokee | 251 | 1,662 | $202,000 | $1,195 | $57,070 |
| 5 | Lexington | 265 | 1,618 | $270,000 | $1,825 | $78,712 |
| 6 | Oconee | 270 | 1,371 | $314,900 | $1,500 | $69,144 |
| 7 | Berkeley | 288 | 1,160 | $400,000 | $2,450 | $86,187 |
| 8 | Aiken | 292 | 1,877 | $280,000 | $1,600 | $71,314 |
| 9 | Lancaster | 295 | 1,223 | $435,000 | $2,250 | $83,171 |
| 10 | Greenville | 336 | 1,537 | $340,000 | $1,850 | $82,531 |
| 11 | Georgetown | 363 | 1,420 | $430,790 | $1,995 | $67,196 |
| 12 | Horry | 364 | 1,899 | $319,900 | $1,800 | $68,932 |
| 13 | Anderson | 379 | 2,026 | $284,900 | $1,525 | $69,775 |
| 14 | Charleston | 390 | 2,105 | $600,000 | $2,612 | $92,635 |
| 15 | Laurens | 391 | 1,737 | $239,900 | $1,575 | $60,433 |
| 16 | Greenwood | 397 | 1,825 | $245,900 | $1,392 | $57,337 |
| 17 | Kershaw | 548 | 1,879 | $275,000 | $1,959 | $73,494 |
| 18 | Richland | 576 | 2,340 | $239,308 | $1,700 | $66,644 |
| 19 | Sumter | 652 | 2,187 | $237,500 | $1,400 | $57,234 |
| 20 | Florence | 756 | 2,973 | $233,000 | $1,325 | $61,320 |
| 21 | Darlington | 873 | 2,768 | $199,000 | $1,300 | $53,035 |
| 22 | Orangeburg | 982 | 2,701 | $200,695 | $1,300 | $52,964 |
A closer look at the 12 safest counties
1. Beaufort County
At 184 violent offenses per 100,000, Beaufort sits in the lowest quarter of the places on this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. The median home closed at $559,973, roughly 198 percent of the middle figure for these counties. Both its crime rate and its price sit at the ends of this list, in the directions people expect them to. Buying there takes 6.1 times the median household income, a heavier lift than most of this list. Its property rate is also among the lowest here, 966 per 100,000, or 0.8 times the median comparable US county. Resideline publishes a separate page for Hilton Head Island, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
2. Pickens County
Pickens's violent crime rate is 190 per 100,000 residents, the lowest quarter among the South Carolina counties Resideline can measure. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. At $284,900, its median closed price is unremarkable against the rest of this list. Property crime is low too, at 1,104 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 0.9 times the median comparable US county. Asking rents run about $1,455 a month.
3. York County
York records 241 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the lowest quarter of the South Carolina counties measured here. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes changed hands at a median $400,000, around 142 percent of what the rest of this list recorded. Households there earn a median of $94,037, about 136 percent of the median for these counties. Property crime is low too, at 1,281 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 1.1 times the median comparable US county. The median rental listing asks $1,775 a month. For prices at street level, see Fort Mill, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
4. Cherokee County
Police in Cherokee reported 251 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the lowest quarter of this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Buyers there paid a median of $202,000, some 72 percent of the level across the counties measured. Whatever premium safety commands elsewhere on this list, it is not being collected here. Against local incomes it is among the most affordable counties measured, at 3.5 times median household income. Property offenses run at 1,662 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. Resideline publishes a separate page for Gaffney, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
5. Lexington County
Lexington records 265 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the lowest quarter of the South Carolina counties measured here. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes there closed at a median of $270,000, close to the middle of this list. A home costs 3.4 times the median household income there, the lowest quarter of this list. Asking rents of $1,825 a month against that price put it in the top quarter of this list for gross return. Its property rate, 1,618 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. For prices at street level, see Lexington, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
6. Oconee County
At 270 violent offenses per 100,000, Oconee sits in the lowest quarter of the places on this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. The median closed price, $314,900, sits near the center of the counties measured. Property crime is low too, at 1,371 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 1.2 times the median comparable US county. The median rental listing asks $1,500 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Seneca, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
7. Berkeley County
Police in Berkeley reported 288 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the middle range of this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes there closed at a median of $400,000, about 142 percent of the median across this list. A typical home costs 4.6 years of the median household's income, near the top of this list. Its property rate is among the lowest here, 1,160 per 100,000, or 1.0 times the median comparable US county. Asking rents run about $2,450 a month.
8. Aiken County
Aiken's violent crime rate is 292 per 100,000 residents, the middle range among the South Carolina counties Resideline can measure. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. The median closed price, $280,000, sits near the center of the counties measured. Its property rate, 1,877 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. The median rental listing asks $1,600 a month. For prices at street level, see Aiken, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
9. Lancaster County
Lancaster records 295 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the middle range of the South Carolina counties measured here. That is 1.2 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, though still below the South Carolina statewide rate of 385 per 100,000 in the same data. Buyers there paid a median of $435,000, some 154 percent of the level across the counties measured. Homes cost 5.2 times what the median household there earns, among the steepest ratios on this list. Property crime is low, at 1,223 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 1.0 times the median comparable US county. Asking rents run about $2,250 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Lancaster, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
10. Greenville County
Greenville's violent crime rate is 336 per 100,000 residents, the middle range among the South Carolina counties Resideline can measure. That is 1.4 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, though still below the South Carolina statewide rate of 385 per 100,000 in the same data. A median closing price of $340,000 puts it at roughly 120 percent of the middle figure for this list. Households there earn a median of $82,531, about 120 percent of the median for these counties. Property offenses run at 1,537 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. The median rental listing asks $1,850 a month. For prices at street level, see Greenville, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
11. Georgetown County
Georgetown records 363 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the middle range of the South Carolina counties measured here. That is 1.5 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, though still below the South Carolina statewide rate of 385 per 100,000 in the same data. The median home closed at $430,790, roughly 153 percent of the middle figure for these counties. The gap between local wages and local prices is wide: 6.4 times household income, in the top quarter of these counties. Its property rate, 1,420 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. The median rental listing asks $1,995 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Pawleys Island, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
12. Horry County
Horry's violent crime rate is 364 per 100,000 residents, the middle range among the South Carolina counties Resideline can measure. That is 1.5 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, though still below the South Carolina statewide rate of 385 per 100,000 in the same data. Homes changed hands at a median $319,900, around 113 percent of what the rest of this list recorded. Property offenses run at 1,899 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. The median rental listing asks $1,800 a month. For prices at street level, see Myrtle Beach, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
Does safety set the price in South Carolina?
Somewhat, and less than you would expect. The safest third of these counties runs 33 percent above the highest-crime third on price. The same safe places also earn 37 percent more, so income explains part of the raw gap. This state-level comparison does not isolate density, housing mix or other factors that may explain the remainder.
It is the same pattern our national study found across 688 counties, where crime stopped predicting prices once income was accounted for. The method is set out in our study, Does Crime Actually Lower Home Prices?.
That is a county-level result. Within a county, research at the scale of a block or a neighborhood finds that violent crime does lower the value of the homes nearest to it, so use these figures to compare counties, not streets.
Where safety and affordability overlap in South Carolina
Two of the 7 safest counties on this list also cost no more than the list's median once prices are set against local incomes: Cherokee (251 violent per 100,000, a home at 3.5 times median household income); Lexington (265 violent per 100,000, a home at 3.4 times median household income). Against what households there earn, those are the counties where a low crime rate is not being charged for.
The counties we cannot rank
Larger South Carolina places are missing from the table above. Every one with more than 150,000 residents is listed here with the reason.
- •Spartanburg, with about 369,000 residents, reports 53 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
- •Dorchester, with about 175,000 residents, reports 88 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
How to read this list
A rate like this averages everything inside the area, from its downtown to its farmland, and the spread within one of them is often wider than the spread between them. Use it to shortlist, then look at the specific address and the block it sits on.
Prices and rents are as of September 9, 2026, from closings and rental listings Resideline tracks over the previous 12 months; a price is shown where at least 100 closings were tracked and a rent where at least 50 listings were. Rent figures are the median asking rent on listings, not lease figures. Crime is the 2025 FBI Crime Data Explorer release, measured for the whole county over the months each agency reported, and violent crime means murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Household income is the Census SAIPE 2024 estimate of the county's median household income; population is the Census 2024 estimate. Where this page compares a rate with the median comparable US county, that figure (245 violent and 1188 property offenses per 100,000) is the median across the 874 US counties with at least 50,000 residents whose agencies reported on 90 percent or more of them for the year.
Sources and related pages
- •Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer, agency-level offense counts for 2025, aggregated by county over the months each agency reported.
- •Income: Census SAIPE 2024, county median household income.
- •Population: Census county population estimates, vintage 2024.
- •Prices and rents: Resideline's tracked closings and rental listings, 12 months to September 2026.
- •Related: Safest counties by state; Does crime actually lower home prices?; South Carolina housing market; Safest counties in Georgia; Safest counties in North Carolina.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the safest county in South Carolina?
Of the 22 South Carolina counties measured here, Beaufort County records the lowest violent crime rate at 184 offenses per 100,000 residents, against 245 for the median comparable US county. Homes there closed at a median of $559,973 over the last 12 months.
Is this every county in South Carolina?
No. It covers 22 of the state's 46 counties, the ones where police agencies report at least 90 percent of the population to the FBI, the area has at least 50,000 residents, and the resulting rate falls inside the sanity bounds we apply. Whether Resideline has enough sales there decides only whether a price is shown. The larger places that miss those bars are listed on the page with the reason.
Does a lower crime rate mean higher home prices?
Less than most people assume. Comparing the safest third of these counties with the highest-crime third, the median closed price is 33 percent higher and household income 37 percent higher. Across 688 US counties we found that once income and other county characteristics are controlled for, a county's crime rate stops predicting its home prices. At the scale of a block, the research says violent crime does lower nearby values.
Is this crime rate for my neighborhood?
No. The FBI publishes these figures for whole counties, so every part of a county carries the same number here, from its densest district to its farmland. It is useful for narrowing a search and not a substitute for looking at a specific address.
Are these rents asking rents or lease rents?
They are the median asking rent on rental listings in the county over the last 12 months. That is what landlords advertised, a guide to the market rather than a lease figure.
About the author
Jeffrey Batista
Jeffrey Batista is the founder of Resideline, a real estate technology company building institutional grade valuation and investment analysis tools for real estate investors.
A software engineer with more than 10 years of experience, Jeffrey has worked across full stack development, infrastructure, data engineering, machine learning, and large scale systems. He left his engineering career to build Resideline full time.
Jeffrey is also a real estate investor with nearly a decade of hands on experience buying, renovating, managing, and analyzing residential properties. His experience on both sides of the industry, as an engineer and an investor, led him to build Resideline after seeing how fragmented and outdated many of the tools available to individual investors were.
Today, he leads the development of Resideline's proprietary data infrastructure, automated valuation models, rental analytics, and investment underwriting technology.