Charleston, SC vs Mount Pleasant, SC: Crime Rate Comparison (2025)
A side-by-side look at reported crime in Charleston and Mount Pleasant, on the FBI-based Crime Index (0–100, higher = safer) for 2025.
Mount Pleasant is the safer city
Mount Pleasant scores 86/100 (grade B) versus 74/100 (grade C) for Charleston — a 12-point gap. Charleston's violent-crime rate is 2.1× Mount Pleasant. Across the 8 offense categories, Mount Pleasant has the lower rate in 7.
Charleston, SC
Crime Index
- Population
- 159,360
- Violent / 100k
- 280
- Property / 100k
- 1,612
- In South Carolina
- #2 of 7
Mount Pleasant, SC
SaferCrime Index
- Population
- 96,727
- Violent / 100k
- 132
- Property / 100k
- 1,026
- In South Carolina
- #1 of 7
Crime rates head-to-head
| Metric | Charleston | Mount Pleasant | US average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Index (higher = safer) | 74C | 86B | 73C |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 132 | 315 |
| Property crime /100k | 1,612 | 1,026 | 1,487 |
| Homicide /100k | 6.3 | 1 | 4.1 |
| Total reported /100k | 1,892 | 1,158 | 1,802 |
Grade shown per index band (88–100 = A … 0–29 = F). Rates are reported offenses per 100,000 residents.
By offense
Rate per 100,000 residents — the lower (safer) city is highlighted.
| Offense | Charleston | Mount Pleasant |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 6.3 | 1 |
| Rape | 20.1 | 13.4 |
| Robbery | 39.5 | 9.3 |
| Aggravated assault | 214 | 109 |
| Burglary | 108 | 84.8 |
| Larceny-theft | 1,355 | 865 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 143 | 68.2 |
| Arson | 6.3 | 7.2 |
Crime trends
Charleston
Mount Pleasant
Frequently asked questions
Is Charleston or Mount Pleasant safer?
Which has more violent crime, Charleston or Mount Pleasant?
What are the odds of violent crime in Charleston vs Mount Pleasant?
No area has zero risk
A high Crime Index score means lower reported crime relative to other US cities — it is not a guarantee of safety. Reported crime is not the same as actual crime. Research on the gap between crime that occurs and crime that gets reported to police — often called the "dark figure" of crime — estimates that roughly 40% of violent crime and about a third of property crime go unreported each year. Every index built on official statistics, including this one, necessarily undercounts real crime. That gap is exactly why homicide — the offense with the smallest dark figure — anchors the calculation instead of a more commonly reported but less reliable category like theft.
Scores on this page reflect FBI-reported data for 2025. See the full methodology →
Protecting yourself in Charleston & Mount Pleasant
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