Crime in Prospect Park, PA

Prospect Park is a borough of 6,420 in Delaware County, about 9 miles southwest of downtown Philadelphia · Updated November 2026

Is Prospect Park, PA safe?

Yes, crime in Prospect Park is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Prospect Park sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 53% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to A-; see the map below.

A
Overall CrimeGrade™Safety score 852 of 1,000
About as safe as the typical US neighborhood What this means

53% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Prospect Park as a whole, and 47% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Prospect Park scores 852.

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.

A
Violent crimeSafety score 866 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhood
A-
Property crimeSafety score 826 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhood

How it works


Crime map of Prospect Park

Map of Prospect Park shaded by overall CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

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 Prospect Park, PA at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Prospect Park, 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 Prospect Park

Crime per resident runs lower than the grade suggests. Few people come to Prospect Park to work or shop: it has only 23 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. 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 Prospect Park

CrimeGrade™ estimates Prospect Park has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 56% less than the US as a whole and 43% 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 Prospect Park, about 43% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does far more harm.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
Violent crime
MurderAunder 10.020.05
RapeAunder 10.140.38
RobberyA+under 10.100.62
AssaultA223.412.3
Property crime
BurglaryA+30.542.4
TheftB+467.113.1
Vehicle theftA50.742.7
ArsonA+under 10.040.12
VandalismA-274.35.5

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.

The Prospect Park Police Department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.

Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.


How Prospect Park compares with nearby cities

Of the 9 cities closest to Prospect Park, 5 have less crime. Folsom and Ridley Park have the least.

Nearby cities

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Prospect ParkA852AA-6,420
Norwood 1 mileA-836A-A-5,930
Ridley Park 1 mileA899AA9,960
Holmes 1 mileA887A+A-4,460
Philadelphia 12 milesF9D-F1.59 million
Show all 9
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Folsom 1 mileA902A+A-7,490
Folcroft 1 mileC427D+B6,770
Glenolden 2 milesB+766A-B+13,600
Essington 2 milesA862AA3,890
Morton 2 milesA885AA-6,340

Nearest first, with each place's distance from Prospect Park. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with cities of similar size and density, Prospect Park is safer than 64% of them.

Cities of similar size and density

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Prospect ParkA852AA-6,420
Carlstadt, NJA+937A+A+6,380
University, MSA+927A+A6,330
Notre Dame, INA887AA-6,570
University Park, PAA883AA6,660
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Sheppard Afb, TXA-835AA-6,530
Dayton, KYA-788A-A-6,250
Bridgeport, PAB+756A-B+6,320
Pembroke Park, FLB664B-B+6,480
Riverdale Park, MDC+502C+C+6,510
Steelton, PAC-357D-B+6,300

Night lighting, parking lots and walkability in Prospect Park

Two things set Prospect Park apart: it has 0.5 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and a Walk Grade of C (38 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Even so, 50% of residents in Prospect Park live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places with little parking-lot space tend to report less theft; here theft sits near the national middle.

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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 91% 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.C (38 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.58% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 83% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.23 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 82% of US city residents

BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Prospect Park on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.

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 Prospect Park

Crime costs Prospect Park about $477 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 60% 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 $4.2 million a year, or $650 per resident.

How the cost breaks down
CrimeCost a yearPer resident
Murder$220,000$34
Rape$53,000$8
Robbery$20,000$3
Assault$380,000$60
Burglary$31,000$5
Theft$230,000$36
Vehicle theft$73,000$11
Arson$5,500$1
Vandalism$190,000$30
Total$1.2 million$189

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 Prospect Park 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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data


Schools in Prospect Park

Schools in Prospect Park, PA average a SchoolGrade of D: 42% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Prospect Park on SchoolGrade