SC’s top 5 counties with the highest, lowest violent crime rates
In the latest crime report by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, a Midlands County remained among the top five counties with the highest rate of violent crime in 2024.
Coming in second, Orangeburg County had a rate of around 111 violent crimes per 10,000 residents, according to the latest crime data compiled by SLED.
The county, however, which has remained in the top five for violent crime for at least the past three reports, shows a decline from 2023, where it was ranked number one at a rate of 143 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.
Taking the number one spot was Dillion County at around 118 violent crimes per 10,000 residents. In third was Lee County at 97 per 10,000, followed by Marlboro County at 90 per 10,000 and Marion County at 87 per 10,000.
The report classifies violent crime as aggravated assault, murder, robbery and sexual battery.
Overall, the state saw a decrease in violent crime by 8.4%, which marks the fourth consecutive yearly decrease, according to the report. The murder rate saw an even larger improvement, plunging 15.8% in 2024 compared to 2023.
Meanwhile, counties with the lowest violent crime rates included:
- Edgefield at 5 per 10,000
- Calhoun at 8 per 10,000
- Pickens at 18 per 10,000
- Saluda at 19 per 10,000
- McCormick at 22 per 10,000
SLED’s annual crime report complies demographic and crime data based of monthly incident and arrest reports submitted by local law enforcement agencies. Of the 279 active law enforcement agencies in South Carolina, 242 reported data for each month in 2024. Thirty-seven agencies, including the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and Winnsboro Police Department did not regularly submit data.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 12:06 PM.
