Water Safety in South Carolina

South Carolina's drowning rate is among the highest on CDC's state map. At the beach, learn to spot a rip current and swim near a lifeguard. On the water, wear a life jacket, and make sure young drivers have passed the state's boater education course.

South Carolina drowning and boating numbers

1.59 per 100,000

• Drowning: CDC puts South Carolina's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 1.59 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), in the highest band on its map.
• Boating: The U.S. Coast Guard counted 154 reportable recreational boating incidents in South Carolina in 2024, with 10 deaths and 82 injuries (opens in a new tab). Deaths by year: 25 in 2020, 18 in 2021, 22 in 2022, 24 in 2023 and 10 in 2024.
• Coast: NOAA lists 2,876 miles of official shoreline (opens in a new tab) for South Carolina, following its sounds, bays, rivers and creeks.
• Boats: 353,906 registered vessels in 2024.

The drop in boating deaths in 2024 is welcome; one year is not yet a trend. CDC counts drowning deaths of residents, so visitors are counted in their home states. See our South Carolina data page.

Spotting a rip current

Rip currents are the main danger on surf beaches. NOAA says they can move at speeds of up to eight feet per second (opens in a new tab), faster than an Olympic swimmer, and that panicked swimmers who fight straight back to shore risk drowning from exhaustion.

The National Weather Service lists the signs to look for before you go in:

• Color: the water is often darker in a rip current (opens in a new tab).
• Texture: a gap of flat water where waves are not breaking.
• Movement: a line of foam, seaweed or debris moving away from the beach.

Rip currents also form at breaks in sandbars and near inlets, jetties and piers, where they are stronger. If you're caught, stay calm, float, and swim parallel to the beach. Practice with our rip current guide or the rip current trainer tool.

South Carolina boater education

From the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR):

• The law: effective August 18, 2023, boaters born after July 1, 2007 are required by law to pass an approved boater education course (opens in a new tab) before operating a boat, personal watercraft or specialty propcraft with a motor of 10 horsepower or more.
• Rentals: a person born after July 1, 2007 may rent with a valid boat rental safety certificate, which is good for 30 days and only for rented vessels.
• Free class: SCDNR's preferred option is a free, instructor-led classroom course (opens in a new tab), a six-hour, one-day class that ends with a short test. Approved online courses and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadrons courses also count.

Federal law requires children under 13 to wear a life jacket on a moving boat (opens in a new tab). This is a summary, not legal advice. Check SCDNR before you go.

What you can do today

• At the beach, take two minutes to look for rip current signs before anyone goes in.
• Set up near a lifeguard stand, and agree on a meeting spot with your kids.
• Sign up a teen born after July 1, 2007 for SCDNR's free boating class.
• Put a fitted life jacket on every child before the boat moves.
• Planning a beach trip? Read our vacation water safety guide.