Columbia, SC Crime Statistics For 2023

Demographics | Crime | Cost Of Living
Updated: 2023-10-25

Crime Rate In Columbia, SC Summary

Crime in Columbia research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Columbia over the past eight years using the FBI crime explorer. Based on the most recently available data released October 17, 2023, we found the following about crime in Columbia:

  • There were 4,759 total crimes committed in Columbia the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 3,454.4 total crimes per 100K people in Columbia.
  • The overall crime rate in Columbia is 48.63% above the national average.
  • Columbia ranks #87 safest out of 168 cities in South Carolina.
  • Columbia ranks #8,587 safest out of 9,869 cities in the United States.

Because the crime rate is so low in America, we use "per 100,000 people" to make the number a bit easier to compare across locations visually. It's mathematically the same as doing per capita comparisons and isn't conveying that there are 100,000+ people in a location.

Additional research about crime in South Carolina

Columbia Vs South Carolina And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Columbia is 3,454.4 per 100,000 people. That's 48.63% higher than the national rate of 2,324.2 per 100,000 people and 6.23% higher than the South Carolina total crime rate of 3,251.8 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Columbia
/ 100k People
South Carolina
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 4,759 3,454.4 3,251.8 2,324.2
Murder 13 9.4 10.5 6.3
Robbery 100 72.6 59.8 66.1
Aggravated Assault 667 484.1 420.3 268.2
Violent Crime 825 598.8 530.7 369.8
Burglary 495 359.3 448.0 269.8
Larceny 3,011 2,185.6 1,991.0 1,401.9
Car Theft 428 310.7 282.1 282.7
Property Crime 3,934 2,855.5 2,721.1 1,954.4

Columbia Crime Compared To South Carolina Averages

Each category of crime indexed to the worst per capita in South Carolina.
Data Source -- FBI UCR 2022.

Violent Crime Rates In Columbia

825
Violent Crimes
598.8
Violent Crimes / 100k People
61.93%
Above The National Average
  • There were 825 violent crimes in Columbia in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Columbia is 598.8 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 167.0 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Columbia each year. That compares to a 1 in 188.4 chance statewide.
  • That's 61.93% higher than the national rate of 369.8 per 100,000 people.
  • 12.84% higher than the South Carolina violent crime rate of 530.7 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Columbia

3,934
Property Crimes
2,855.5
Property Crimes / 100k People
46.11%
Above The National Average
  • There were 3,934 property crimes in Columbia in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Columbia is 2,855.5 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 35.0 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Columbia each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 46.11% higher than the national rate of 1,954.4 per 100,000 people.
  • And 4.94% higher than the South Carolina property crime rate of 2,721.1 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Columbia

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Lexington, SC 24,880 469 1,885.0 1,643.9 241.2
West Columbia, SC 17,581 1,100 6,256.8 5,523.0 733.7
Cayce, SC 13,710 687 5,010.9 4,004.4 1,006.6
Irmo, SC 11,937 451 3,778.2 3,317.4 460.8
Forest Acres, SC 10,514 416 3,956.6 3,623.7 332.9
Springdale, SC 2,749 94 3,419.4 2,400.9 1,018.6
Elgin, SC 1,603 82 5,115.4 4,803.5 311.9

Columbia SnackAbility

4
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
5/10
Housing
8
Affordability
5
Diversity
9
Safety
3
Amenities
8.5
Education
8
Commute
9.5
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