What are the most dangerous cities in South Carolina? To get the lowdown on the cities in South Carolina that are the most dangerous with the highest crime rates, we consulted the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report. Our rankings are based solely on the data publicly released each year by the FBI. A crime is a crime, so we took both violent and property crimes into account when compiling our list of South Carolina’s most dangerous cities. Our list of dangerous cities, however, are ranked according to violent crime rate.*

We realize that this topic is inherently controversial in nature and hits close to home. We are aware that there are many different ways to present this data, but when compiling this list we chose to consider not just murder rate, but both violent and property crimes. Our list is ranked by violent crime rate, but check each city listing to get a general idea of the city’s ranking in terms of overall criminal offenses. Only cities with populations over 5,000 were considered.

1. Clover, SC: South Carolina’s Most Dangerous City Population: 5,245

Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents

Violent Crimes: 24.59 per 1,000 residents

Property Crimes: 33.75 per 1,000 residents

Total Reported Crimes: 58.34 per 1,000 residents Clover has a crime rate of about 58 per one thousand residents. Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Clover? One in 17. Clover’s ranking when considering both violent and property crimes? #32 These statistics make Clover the most dangerous city in South Carolina.

2. Lancaster, SC Population: 8,749

Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents

Violent Crimes: 18.29 per 1,000 residents

Property Crimes: 72.12 per 1,000 residents

Total Reported Crimes: 90.41 per 1,000 residents Lancaster has a crime rate of about 90 per one thousand residents. Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Lancaster? One in 11. Lancaster’s ranking when considering both violent and property crimes? #7

3. Myrtle Beach, SC Population: 28,085

Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents

Violent Crimes: 16.81 per 1,000 residents

Property Crimes: 153.57 per 1,000 residents

Total Reported Crimes: 170.38 per 1,000 residents Myrtle Beach has a crime rate of about 170 per one thousand residents. Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Myrtle Beach? One in 6. Myrtle Beach’s ranking when considering both violent and property crimes? #1

4. Bennettsville, SC Population: 9,034

Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents

Violent Crimes: 15.83 per 1,000 residents

Property Crimes: 60.11 per 1,000 residents

Total Reported Crimes: 75.94 per 1,000 residents Bennettsville has a crime rate of about 76 per one thousand residents. Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Bennettsville? One in 13. Bennettsville’s ranking when considering both violent and property crimes? #17

5. Marion, SC Population: 6,960

Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents

Violent Crimes: 15.23 per 1,000 residents

Property Crimes: 91.09 per 1,000 residents

Total Reported Crimes: 106.32 per 1,000 residents Marion has a crime rate of about 106 per one thousand residents. Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Marion? One in 9. Marion’s ranking when considering both violent and property crimes? #3

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