Crime in Charleston, Missouri

Charleston's crime rate

There were 141 crimes reported in Charleston, Missouri in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,568 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Charleston compare?

Charleston has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Charleston's overall crime rate is 18% lower than the overall crime rate in Missouri. Statewide, there were 192,326 crimes reported in 2019, or 3,134 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Charleston, however, property crimes account for only about 70% of all offenses.

Property crime is less prevalent in Charleston than it is nationwide. There were 99 property crimes in Charleston in 2019, or 1,803 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Charleston. There were 76 larcenies reported in Charleston in 2019, or 1,384 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 16 break-ins reported in Charleston in 2019, or 291 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Charleston, meanwhile, there were 7 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 128 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Charleston, however, violent offenses account for a much larger 30% share of all reported crime.

At 765 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Charleston is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Charleston reported a total of 42 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Charleston. There were 37 aggravated assaults reported in Charleston in 2019, or 674 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 3 robberies reported in Charleston in 2019, a rate of 55 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There was one rape reported in Charleston in 2019, or 18 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There was one homicide reported in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Charleston is 18.2 for every 100,000 people, more than triple the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Charleston compared to other cities in Missouri

Charleston has a lower crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in Missouri. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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