South Carolina Sex Offender Statistics (2026)
As of August 2026, we index about 18,200 sex-offender registry records in South Carolina — the 15th-most of the 56 US jurisdictions, at 3.6 per 1,000 residents. These are counts of the records in our continuously updated index, rounded and dated — not South Carolina’s official figures.
South Carolina against the national average
Registrants we index, with the rate per 1,000 residents (2020 Census population). Neighboring jurisdictions are listed for scale; each links to its own statistics page.
| Jurisdiction | Registrants indexed (approx.) | Per 1,000 residents | Rank by count |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | ≈ 18,200 | 3.6 | 15th |
| United States (all 58 registries) | ≈ 1,560,000 | 4.7 | — |
| Georgia | ≈ 41,500 | 3.9 | 6th |
| North Carolina | ≈ 31,100 | 3.0 | 8th |
Cite this: ≈18,200 sex-offender registry records indexed in South Carolina (3.6 per 1,000 residents) — Offendersearch, South Carolina Sex Offender Statistics (August 2026). https://offendersearch.app/sex-offender-statistics/south-carolina#headline
Where South Carolina ranks
South Carolina holds the 15th-largest count of registrants we index among the 56 US jurisdictions — just behind Missouri (≈21,500) and ahead of Indiana (≈14,600). South Carolina's rate of 3.6 registrants indexed per 1,000 residents ranks 18th among the US jurisdictions with at least 1,000 indexed records, against a national average of about 4.7 per 1,000. Absolute size and per-capita rate order the states very differently — the full rankings are on the count ranking and the per-capita ranking.
Housing status (national estimate). No per-state housing figure is published here, because our housing data is a national sample estimate: across 6,668 sampled records nationwide, 5.7% of registrants with a known housing status were homeless or had no fixed address as of August 2026. That figure describes the country, not South Carolina — the breakdown is on the national statistics page.
South Carolina city figures
Cities where we publish a local count, largest first:
South Carolina county figures
South Carolina statistics, answered
How many registered sex offenders live in South Carolina?
As of August 2026, we index about 18,200 sex-offender registry records in South Carolina — the 15th-most of the 56 US jurisdictions. That is a count of the records in our continuously updated index, not South Carolina's official figure: registries add, remove and amend records all the time, so the live answer for a specific person comes from a search, not a table.
How many sex offenders does South Carolina have per capita?
About 3.6 registrants indexed per 1,000 residents, using the 2020 Census population as the denominator. South Carolina's rate of 3.6 registrants indexed per 1,000 residents ranks 18th among the US jurisdictions with at least 1,000 indexed records, against a national average of about 4.7 per 1,000. A rate describes the size of a registry relative to population — jurisdictions differ in who must register, for how long, and which registrants they publish, so it is a scale comparison rather than a safety measure.
Are these South Carolina's official registry numbers?
No — they are approximate counts of the registrants we index for South Carolina, rounded to three significant figures and dated to August 2026. Jurisdictions count different things (people, registrations, addresses) and publish on their own terms, so no single official national table exists. For a legal or research purpose that requires South Carolina's official figure, request it from the state registry authority.
Registry data is not a consumer report, and decisions made on it are regulated in that use.
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<a href="https://offendersearch.app/sex-offender-statistics/south-carolina"><img src="https://offendersearch.app/badge/state/sc.svg" alt="South Carolina registered sex offenders — Offendersearch" height="40"></a>The live answer beats the table
Statistics describe South Carolina’s registry as a population; a search answers for a person — across every US registry at once. Your first 25 are free.