The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in New Castle, PA
New Castle is a city of 49,900 in Lawrence County, about 45 miles northwest of downtown Pittsburgh · Updated November 2026
Is New Castle, PA safe?
Yes, crime in New Castle is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, New Castle sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 58% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within New Castle run from A+ to C, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 870 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
58% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than New Castle as a whole, and 42% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. New Castle scores 870.
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 New Castle, PA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in New Castle, 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 New Castle
Car thefts are uncommon. New Castle has car thefts at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.73 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of New Castle
Most of New Castle grades well: 90% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across New Castle run from A+ to C; 56% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
90%10%
A or B 90%C 10%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within New Castle, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in New Castle
CrimeGrade™ estimates New Castle has about 24 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 36% less than the US as a whole and 17% 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 New Castle, about 43% of everything reported.
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.
How New Castle compares with nearby cities
New Castle has the most crime of its 2 nearest cities.
Transit, night lighting and walkability in New Castle
One thing sets New Castle apart: it has 4% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery and car theft, and car theft runs low here.
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 New Castle: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.70% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 78% 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. 78% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (18 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 50% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.8.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 78% 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.4% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 76% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 59% 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 New Castle
Crime costs New Castle about $708 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 41% 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 $56 million a year, or $1,116 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.6 million
$93
Rape
$1.0 million
$21
Robbery
$480,000
$10
Assault
$3.4 million
$67
Burglary
$1.1 million
$22
Theft
$2.6 million
$52
Vehicle theft
$560,000
$11
Arson
$110,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.3 million
$25
Total
$15 million
$304
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 New Castle 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 New Castle, PA average a SchoolGrade of B: 51% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in New Castle on SchoolGrade
