Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Columbia, SC Crime Grade
How Columbia grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of South Carolina — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
10/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
South Carolina
10/10
vs. South Carolina cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Columbia, SC was 787.0 per 100,000 residents (1,157 incidents over a population of 147,021). That puts Columbia Infinity% above the U.S. rate of 0.0 and 142% above the South Carolina statewide rate of 325.3.
That ranks Columbia #3,590 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 5% of them, and #38 of 41 in South Carolina. Violent crime is up 2% year over year and up 8% over the last five years.
Columbia, SC crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- F (10/10)
- South Carolina Grade
- F (10/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 787.0 / 100k
- National rank
- #3,590 of 3,771
- SC rank
- #38 of 41
- Safer than
- 5% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- up 2%
- 5-year change
- up 8%
- Population
- 147,021
- Reporting agency
- Columbia Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Columbia Police Department (FBI ORI SC0400100) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Columbia (red), South Carolina (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Columbia vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 727.4(962) | 599.6(826) | 767.5(1,086) | 769.9(1,113) | 787.0(1,157) |
| Murder | 15.1(20) | 9.4(13) | 14.1(20) | 9.7(14) | 12.9(19) |
| Rape | 65.8(87) | 32.7(45) | 46.6(66) | 61.6(89) | 51.0(75) |
| Robbery | 133.1(176) | 73.3(101) | 107.4(152) | 107.2(155) | 68.7(101) |
| Aggravated assault | 513.4(679) | 484.1(667) | 599.3(848) | 591.5(855) | 654.3(962) |
| Property crime | 4197.2(5,551) | 2868.6(3,952) | 3501.8(4,955) | 3265.1(4,720) | 3143.8(4,622) |
| Burglary | 558.8(739) | 360.0(496) | 457.3(647) | 496.7(718) | 405.4(596) |
| Larceny | 3193.1(4,223) | 2187.0(3,013) | 2552.7(3,612) | 2370.0(3,426) | 2397.6(3,525) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 438.5(580) | 310.7(428) | 476.3(674) | 379.1(548) | 329.2(484) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Columbia, SC Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Columbia Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Columbia calculated?
- Columbia's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the South Carolina state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to South Carolina cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Columbia Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in South Carolina
Comparable South Carolina cities by population.
Compare Columbia to other places
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