Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood of 10,700 residents in Philadelphia, about 9 miles north of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Chestnut Hill is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Chestnut Hill sits near the middle: 40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B-. Philadelphia as a whole grades F. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Chestnut Hill run from A+ to C, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 782 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Chestnut Hill as a whole, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Chestnut Hill scores 782.
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 Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, 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 Chestnut Hill
Burglary is a strength. Chestnut Hill grades B- for property crime, but burglary grades A, better than in the neighborhoods where 52% of Americans live.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Philadelphia as a whole, 93% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
How Chestnut Hill compares within Philadelphia
Low crime is the norm across Chestnut Hill: 92% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Chestnut Hill run from A+ to C; 24% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
92%
A or B 92%C 8%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Chestnut Hill has less crime than 62 of the 64 neighborhoods in Philadelphia. It covers much of the Mount Airy, Roxborough, and Chestnut Hill areas.
Crime rates and types in Chestnut Hill
CrimeGrade™ estimates Chestnut Hill has about 41 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 11% more than the US as a whole and 52% less than Philadelphia as a whole.
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 Chestnut Hill, about 58% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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 Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Police Department polices Chestnut Hill; these figures cover Philadelphia as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Philadelphia as a whole, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (96%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (93%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (72%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (64%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Streets and sidewalks (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for burglary, car theft, theft from cars, vandalism.
How Chestnut Hill compares with nearby neighborhoods
Chestnut Hill has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods; only Wyndmoor and Bala Cynwyd have less.
Tree cover, shops and walkability in Chestnut Hill
Two things set Chestnut Hill apart: it has tree cover over 34% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally, and 17.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places with a lot of tree cover tend to report less robbery.
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.34% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 94% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.17.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 86% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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.B- (55 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 68% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Chestnut Hill: C- (32 of 100).22 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 73% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Chestnut Hill
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Chestnut Hill about $789 a year per household, 35% 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 $7.3 million a year, or $680 per resident.
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 Chestnut Hill 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. Chestnut Hill is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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
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 Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA average a SchoolGrade of B: 51% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Chestnut Hill on SchoolGrade
