Chester Heights is a borough of 2,950 in Delaware County, about 17 miles west of downtown Philadelphia · Updated November 2026
Is Chester Heights, PA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Chester Heights: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 80% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 936 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
80% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Chester Heights as a whole, and 20% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Chester Heights scores 936.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Chester Heights, PA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Chester Heights, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Chester Heights
Crime per resident runs lower than the grade suggests. Few people come to Chester Heights to work or shop: it has only 4.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. With few visitors, its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ weighs each crime against the people, homes and parked cars actually here.
Crime rates and types in Chester Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Chester Heights has about 12 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 68% less than the US as a whole and 58% less than Pennsylvania.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Chester Heights, about 47% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Chester Heights
The State Police (Delaware County) polices Chester Heights, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Chester Heights, 58% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 37% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (58%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (34%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (37%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (30%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Streets and sidewalks (58%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Chester Heights compares with nearby cities
Chester Heights has less crime than 4 of its 8 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Chester Heights. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Chester Heights has more crime than 69% of them.
Two things set Chester Heights apart: it has 4.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and a Walk Grade of F (6 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.4.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 94% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (6 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 89% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 88% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 83% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.63 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 81% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.6.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 55% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Chester Heights
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Chester Heights about $277 a year per household, 77% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $950,000 a year, or $323 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$36,000
$12
Rape
$18,000
$6
Robbery
$4,900
$2
Assault
$140,000
$47
Burglary
$14,000
$5
Theft
$85,000
$29
Vehicle theft
$15,000
$5
Arson
$3,300
$1
Vandalism
$25,000
$8
Total
$340,000
$115
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Chester Heights means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Chester Heights, PA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 74% of students test proficient, against 74% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Chester Heights on SchoolGrade
