Crime & Safety in Charleston
Charleston's real, current crime picture runs genuinely above national and statewide comparison figures across every aggregator source reviewed this pass, though this record discloses a real, genuinely positive recent-year counterpoint directly alongside that elevated baseline.
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Learn moreAn Elevated Overall and Violent Crime Rate
Aggregator sources (reflecting FBI-reported 2024 calendar-year data, released October 2025) cited Charleston's overall crime rate at approximately 3,662.5 per 100,000 residents -- roughly 72.82% above a cited national rate -- with a violent-crime rate of approximately 542.7 per 100,000 (251 violent crimes), roughly 51.16% above the cited national violent-crime rate and roughly 118.10% above West Virginia's own statewide violent-crime rate.
A Real, Disclosed, Genuinely Positive Recent-Year Trend
The same sources cited a year-over-year decline of approximately 11% in violent crime, 17% in property crime, and 16% in overall crime for the most recent reporting period reviewed -- a real, genuinely positive counterpoint this record discloses directly rather than omitting.
Data Vintage: 2024 Calendar-Year FBI Data
This record discloses the precise data vintage directly: the crime figures above reflect FBI-reported 2024 calendar-year data, released in October 2025. Complete 2025 and 2026 crime data was not yet available from official FBI sources as of this research pass (August 2026).
Research Neighborhood-Specific Data Directly
Movers should research current, address-specific crime data directly for a specific target neighborhood via the Charleston Police Department's own published statistics rather than relying on any single citywide framing in isolation.
Key takeaways
- Charleston's overall crime rate ran approximately 72.82% above the national rate, and its violent-crime rate ran approximately 51.16% above the national rate, per FBI 2024 data.
- The same sources cited real, genuine year-over-year declines: approximately 11% (violent crime), 17% (property crime), and 16% (overall crime).
- This data reflects FBI-reported 2024 calendar-year figures; complete 2025-2026 data was not yet available as of this research pass.
- Research current, address-specific crime data directly for a target neighborhood via the Charleston Police Department.
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