Crime in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

North Myrtle Beach's crime rate

There were 1,186 crimes reported in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 7,000 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does North Myrtle Beach compare?

North Myrtle Beach 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.

North Myrtle Beach's overall crime rate is 103% 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 North Myrtle Beach, however, property crimes account for about 94% of all offenses.

Property crime is much more prevalent in North Myrtle Beach than it is nationwide. There were 1,115 property crimes in North Myrtle Beach in 2019, or 6,581 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 North Myrtle Beach. There were 910 larcenies reported in North Myrtle Beach in 2019, or 5,371 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 108 break-ins reported in North Myrtle Beach in 2019, or 638 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 North Myrtle Beach, meanwhile, there were 97 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 573 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 North Myrtle Beach, however, violent offenses account for a much smaller 6% share of all reported crime.

At 419 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in North Myrtle Beach is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in North Myrtle Beach reported a total of 71 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 North Myrtle Beach. There were 45 aggravated assaults reported in North Myrtle Beach in 2019, or 266 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is 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 10 robberies reported in North Myrtle Beach in 2019, a rate of 59 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 15 rapes reported in North Myrtle Beach in 2019, or 89 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 North Myrtle Beach is 5.9 for every 100,000 people, higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

North Myrtle Beach compared to other cities in South Carolina

North Myrtle Beach has a higher crime rate than the vast 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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