The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Wilkes-Barre is a city of 65,200 in Luzerne County, about 16 miles southwest of downtown Scranton · Updated November 2026
Is Wilkes-Barre, PA safe?
Crime in Wilkes-Barre is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 67% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Wilkes-Barre. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Wilkes-Barre run from A+ to D+, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 725 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
33% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Wilkes-Barre as a whole, and 67% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wilkes-Barre scores 725.
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 Wilkes-Barre, PA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wilkes-Barre, 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 Wilkes-Barre
Car thefts run high in Mayflower & East End. In this part of central Wilkes-Barre, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Wilkes-Barre.
Robbery is a strength. Wilkes-Barre grades B for violent crime, but robbery grades A.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Wilkes-Barre
Most of Wilkes-Barre grades well: 67% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 2% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Wilkes-Barre run from A+ to D+; 24% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
67%31%
A or B 67%C 31%D or F 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Parsons, northeastCar thefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Wilkes-Barre.A-825
2Rolling Mill Hill, southwestBurglaries run at about half the rate in the rest of Wilkes-Barre.A-819
3North End, northThefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Wilkes-Barre.B656
4Iona, westSimple assaults run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Wilkes-Barre.B-595
5Mayflower & East End, centralAggravated assaults run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Wilkes-Barre.B-551
Neighborhood areas of Wilkes-Barre, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Wilkes-Barre?
Reported crime in Wilkes-Barre has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 29% and property crime down 26%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 6.0 to 4.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 21 to 15 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Wilkes-BarreUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Wilkes-Barre. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Wilkes-Barre
Violent, US
Property, Wilkes-Barre
Property, US
2016
-12%
+4%
+29%
+15%
2017
+2%
+4%
+28%
+12%
2018
-16%
+0%
+12%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-16%
+4%
-20%
-8%
2021
-32%
+6%
-29%
-10%
2022
-34%
+5%
-23%
-6%
2023
-32%
+2%
-28%
-7%
2024
-29%
-4%
-26%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Wilkes-Barre
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wilkes-Barre has about 40 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 9% more than the US as a whole and 41% more 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Wilkes-Barre, about 42% 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.
How Wilkes-Barre compares with nearby cities
Wilkes-Barre has the most crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Empty homes, shops and walkability in Wilkes-Barre
Two things set Wilkes-Barre apart: it has 12.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 17.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson; here burglary and vandalism sit near the national middle.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.12.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.17.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 93% 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 (39 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.55% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 86% of US city residents
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 Wilkes-Barre: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.66 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 83% 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 Wilkes-Barre
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Wilkes-Barre about $1,246 a year per household, about the same as 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 $119 million a year, or $1,829 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$9.4 million
$145
Rape
$1.3 million
$21
Robbery
$950,000
$15
Assault
$12 million
$180
Burglary
$840,000
$13
Theft
$5.5 million
$84
Vehicle theft
$1.1 million
$17
Arson
$160,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.6 million
$25
Total
$33 million
$501
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 Wilkes-Barre 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 Wilkes-Barre, PA average a SchoolGrade of D-: 36% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Wilkes-Barre on SchoolGrade
