Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.
Raw data sources:
18,000 local law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
Date(s) & Update Frequency:
Reflects 2022 calendar year; released from FBI in Oct. 2023 (latest available). Updated annually.
Where is 2023 data?
Methodology:
Our nationwide meta-analysis overcomes the issues inherent in any crime database, including non-reporting and reporting errors. This is possible by associating the 9.4 million reported crimes in the U.S, including over 2 million geocoded point locations….
Read more about Scout's Crime Data
Columbia's overall rate of crime is sufficiently low that NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows the town to be one of the safest in the nation among cities and towns of all sizes, although not one of the very lowest in Alabama (11% of the state's communities have a lower crime rate). Overall a very safe town, Columbia's crime rate is just 1 per 1,000 people, which means that a person's chance of becoming a victim in Columbia is one in 701.
Compared to other communities of similar population size, Columbia has a crime rate that is noticeably lower than the average. This means that for comparably sized cities all across America, Columbia is actually safer than most according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis of FBI crime data.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Columbia does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Columbia.
Importantly, our analysis shows that Columbia has one of the lowest violent crime rates in all of America, across cities and towns of all sizes. Murder, rape, armed robbery and aggravated assault happen far less frequently here than in most places. Your chance of becoming a victim? Just one in 10000. Columbia's violent crime rate is just 0 per 1,000 residents.
Furthermore, our research shows that motor vehicle theft, arson, burglary, and larceny are not very common in Columbia compared to most US cities and towns. In fact, the rate of these property crimes in Columbia is just 1 per one thousand people, far below the national average. Based on this rate, Columbia is one of the safer communities in America with regard to incidences of property crime.
Columbia Crime
Data
FAQ on NeighborhoodScout's Crime Data
NeighborhoodScout® provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. Crime risk indices are nationally comparable on a 1 – 100 scale, where 100 means safer than 100% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Crime risk data are updated annually. Raw crime incidents are sourced from all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies – municipal, county, transit, park, port, university, tribal and more, assigned to localities, then built into NeighborhoodScout’s proprietary predictive models to provide a comprehensive crime risk profile for every neighborhood and address-vicinity in the U.S.
