The 10 Safest Cities In South Carolina For 2026

Always the bridesmaid and never the bride in 2026, Tega Cay ranks as the safest place to live in South Carolina.

Tega Cay has the safest violent crime rate in the state which means you probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting mugged.

Oh and we said always the bridesmaid because the city located on the North Carolina border near Charlotte finished first for safest and best this year. Still awesome, just not quite awesome enough.

We would be happy to hunker down in Fort Mill and you should be too as it ranks as one of the safest places to call home in the Palmetto State.

Top ten finishes in both property crime rates and violent crime rates makes this city a great place to live -- as evidenced by the rocking 40%+ increase in population the city has seen since the beginning of the decade.

In addition to being safe, Fort Mill is one of the richest cities in the state and the best to start a family. So get in before the prices get even higher if you can afford to.

Living in Bluffton is like drawing a full house on the flop and playing it off like you have deuce and seven -- the opposite of a bluff, it's the fifth safest city in South Carolina according to the most recent FBI data.

While it was knocked down a peg over the years, it still has the fifth safest property crime and the seventh safest violent crime rates in the state.

And you don't have to take our word for it, look at his excerpt from a sparkling review a user left:

Bluffton is a coastal community with a very rich history. It's just a few minutes drive from Hilton Head Island and not much further to drive to Savannah GA. The weather is just about perfect year round. The people are friendly, kind, and genuine. There is a fantastic artists colony here in Old Town Bluffton and there are more restaurants than you could get to in a year.

The next safe city on our tour of South Carolina brings us to Central.

And the first thing that pops into my mind besides the unbelievable safety of the city is Ironic by Alanis Morissette -- Central isn't even kinda located in the center of the state.

But maybe that's all part of the plan to keep the bad doers out -- if you can't find the city then you can't commit a crime there.

Now Central is big enough to make it on the list as it just crossed the 5,000 person threshold, we expect it to become a mainstay for the coming years.

Well isn't this a pleasant surprise? The throne of the pleasant, the crown of the peaceful, the pinnacle of safety -- Mount Pleasant ranks as the seventh safest city in South Carolina for 2026.

It moved down one spot from last year, but still boasts one of the lowest property crime ranks in the state.

Furthermore, Mount Pleasant is basically the cream of the crop in South Carolina as it also ranks as the best and richest city in the state according to our most recent rankings. So I'm running out of kingly adjectives to describe it at this point.

Known as "the town with love in the middle," Clover certainly lives up to its motto. Clover had the seventh safest rate of both violent and property crime in the state, earning it the rank of eighth safest town in South Carolina. On average, there was only one violent crime each month in Clover. Maybe it was the same werewolf every time. In any case, you have more to fear from werewolves than criminals if you're planning a picnic at Clover Community Park.

Clover is located near the border of North Carolina, less than an hour southwest of Charlotte.

Lyman is a town of 6,886 with some awe-inspiring crime statistics. Like having the fourth safest lowest property crime in South Carolina.

You know a place is extra safe when, on average, fewer than one crime is committed each week. We wonder if the local police are bored with such meager criminal activity. You can stay out as late as you want at the family-friendly Lyman without fear of an attack or theft. That's because there were only 14 violent crimes committed here over the past year.

Lyman, once pivotal in the textile industry as home to Pacific Mills, has smoothly transitioned into a peaceful residential community after its mills shuttered.

You don't need to be royalty to enjoy a life of peace and safety in Port Royal. All of Port Royal's residents can enjoy being the tenth safest city in South Carolina. While Port Royal didn't achieve a #1 ranking in either property or violent crime, its solid fourth place finish in each category earned it the gold medal overall. Port Royal was just shy of making this list last year, so the jump up to the #10 spot this year is quite impressive. There is a small catch though; Port Royal also ranked as the most expensive town in South Carolina. But hey, being the best in safety is worth every penny.

Port Royal is also home to the Cypress Wetlands, where you can go bird-watching as you stroll down the boardwalk. Port Royal is located in Beaufort County in the southern part of the state.