Crime in Laurens, South Carolina

Laurens's crime rate

There were 530 crimes reported in Laurens, South Carolina in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 6,007 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Laurens compare?

Laurens has one of the highest overall crime rates of any U.S. city. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Laurens's overall crime rate is 74% higher than the overall crime rate in South Carolina. Statewide, there were 177,712 crimes reported in 2019, or 3,452 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 Laurens, property crimes also account for about 85% of all offenses.

Property crime is much more prevalent in Laurens than it is nationwide. There were 450 property crimes in Laurens in 2019, or 5,100 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 Laurens. There were 362 larcenies reported in Laurens in 2019, or 4,103 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 63 break-ins reported in Laurens in 2019, or 714 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 Laurens, meanwhile, there were 25 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 283 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 Laurens, violent offenses also account for a 15% share of all reported crime.

At 907 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Laurens is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Laurens reported a total of 80 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 Laurens. There were 59 aggravated assaults reported in Laurens in 2019, or 669 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 13 robberies reported in Laurens in 2019, a rate of 147 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 8 rapes reported in Laurens in 2019, or 91 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

While there were 16,425 murders nationwide in 2019, none were reported in Laurens.

Laurens compared to other cities in South Carolina

Laurens has a higher crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in South Carolina. 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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