Posted in South Carolina
May 20, 2021
According To Safewise, These Are The 10 Safest Cities To Live In South Carolina In 2021
The numbers are in and the data has been sufficiently analyzed to name the 10 safest cities in which to live in South Carolina in 2021. And thanks to Safewise, a company obsessed with home security that ranks cities around the country each year according to how safe they are, for providing the data here. Safewise recently ranked the top 20 safest cities in South Carolina. The top 10 are below. Did your town make the cut?
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With a population of more than 25,000, Mauldin manages to retain a small town feel, perhaps because it's located in Greenville's shadow. The FBI statistics showed a violent crime rate for Mauldin of only 1.7 in 2020, which is very good. The property crime rate for the same period, however, was 17.3.
Named for being the halfway point between Charlotte and Atlanta, the small town of Central (population 5,380) is a sleepy bedroom community in Pickens County. Known, in part, as the birth place of Lindsay Graham, Central is also the home of the Central Railroad Festival held each October. In 2020, the violent crime rate in Central was 1.0. Property crimes fell in at 25.3 for the same year.
Found within the Blue Ridge Escarpment, Walhalla is a wonderfully beautiful spot all year long, especially in the fall when the leaves light up the city like a spilled box of crayons. The 4,384 residents of Walhalla must get pretty spoiled by the amazing views. Perhaps that's why violent and property crime rates are so low. It's worthy to note that from 2020 to 2021, Walhalla rose 41 notches on the list of safest cities in South Carolina. Go Walhalla!
Population: 26,941. Located at the very southern end of Berkeley County, Hanahan is a bedroom community within the Charleston Metro. With little development other than residential, Hanahan is a city that's mostly all residences, although there are some warehouses found here. With the lack of business development the city enjoys a low violent crime rate (2.3 in 2020) as well as as a low property crime rate (13.3 in 2020).
Falling from the number one position in 2020, Isle of Palms was unseated due to a rise in reported property crimes. In 2019, property crimes represented 15.5 but rose to 18.2 in 2020. The island has a year-round population of 4,236, which rises considerably when vacation rentals fill up during the season, bringing a transient population to this sleepy island. Still, having lived here and raised a child here myself, I'd say the level of feeling safe on the Isle of Palms is pretty significant.
Situated along the May River between Hilton Head and Interstate 95, Bluffton has, in recent years, swelled in terms of tourist interest. It's also grown exponentially in terms of residents. Today, Bluffton's population sits at 24,812, showing, surprisingly, that not all of the safest cities in South Carolina are extremely small in size. In 2020, Bluffton's violent crime rate rested at a rate of 2.2 out of 1,000 people falling victim, up from 2.0 in 2019. Due to the rise, Bluffton fell from #4 to the #5 safest city in the state in 2021.
Ranked #3 last year, Mount Pleasant is the largest of the 10 cities on the list of top 10 safest cities to live in 2021. In terms of violent crime, the residents of the Town of Mount Pleasant fall victim at a rate of 1.5 in 1,000, according to the FBI crime statistics report used by Safewise. Exploding as one of the fastest growing cities in the state, the population of Mt. Pleasant increased from 67,000 in 2010 to 92,448 in 2021. From 2019 to 2020, property crimes in Mt. Pleasant decreased from 15.3 to 13.6.
Sitting on the shores of Lake Wylie in the Piedmont, Tega Cay enjoys the most income of any city on this list, with a median household income of $123,564. The city rose 21 positions on this list compared to last year. Perhaps the most influential reason for the increase was Tega Cay's incredibly low violent crime rate. It currently sits 0.4 occurrences for every 1,000 residents. That's super low and a testament to this wonderful lakeside community. Way to go, Tega Cay!
Fort Mill's name is derived from a fort constructed by the British and a nearby mill. Fort Mill's small population of 21,219 help this small city retain a small-town feel. Fort Mill saw a low, low violent crime rate of 2.7 in 2019 and 1.7 in 2020.
Debuting in the #1 position of the safest city to live in South Carolina, Woodruff moved up 26 points from its position on the same list in 2020. Looking at the numbers, Woodruff certainly has earned the jump. The city's violent crime has fallen from 4.7 in 2019 to a current rate of 0.7 instances per 1,000 residents. Woodruff's population is 4,356.
Well, did your town make the cut? Were you surprised by any of the towns on the list? To see the top 70 towns ranked in order of safest in South Carolina visit this link and scroll down to near the bottom of the page.
Address: Mauldin, SC, USA
Address: Central, SC 29630, USA
Address: Walhalla, SC, USA
Address: Hanahan, SC, USA
Address: Isle of Palms, SC, USA
Address: Bluffton, SC, USA
Address: Mt Pleasant, SC, USA
Address: Tega Cay, SC 29708, USA
Address: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Address: Woodruff, SC 29388, USA
