The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Wilkinsburg, PA
Wilkinsburg is a borough of 14,000 in Allegheny County, about 6 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh · Updated November 2026
Is Wilkinsburg, PA safe?
Crime in Wilkinsburg is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of D-. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 91% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Wilkinsburg. Violent crime grades F and property crime C-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Wilkinsburg run from B- to F, so check the map below.
D-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 138 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
9% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Wilkinsburg as a whole, and 91% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wilkinsburg scores 138.
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 Wilkinsburg, PA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wilkinsburg, 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 Wilkinsburg
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Wilkinsburg, 70% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Wilkinsburg, each runs at more than double the US rate: 6.7 car thefts and 12.2 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Wilkinsburg
High crime is widespread across Wilkinsburg: 58% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 12% in areas graded A or B. Grades across Wilkinsburg run from B- to F; every part of Wilkinsburg has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
12%30%58%
A or B 12%C 30%D or F 58%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Wilkinsburg, the southwest side has the least crime and the north side the most.
Is crime going up in Wilkinsburg?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Wilkinsburg is down 26%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 7.8 to 5.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 26 to 24 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 14% and property crime rose 22%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
WilkinsburgUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Wilkinsburg. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Wilkinsburg
Violent, US
Property, Wilkinsburg
Property, US
2016
+37%
+4%
+30%
+15%
2017
+2%
+4%
+35%
+12%
2018
+18%
+0%
+17%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+21%
+4%
-0%
-8%
2021
+25%
+6%
-7%
-10%
2022
+7%
+5%
-18%
-6%
2023
-14%
+2%
-25%
-7%
2024
-26%
-4%
-8%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Wilkinsburg
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wilkinsburg has about 53 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 44% more than the US as a whole and 87% 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 Wilkinsburg, about 32% 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.
The Wilkinsburg Police Department's 2024 report of burglary had a month far out of line with the rest, a sign of a data-entry error or a catch-up month, so CrimeGrade™ set it aside and used the other months. The department's 2024 report to the FBI was missing some months of aggravated assault; CrimeGrade™ filled them in from the department's own monthly pattern.
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 Wilkinsburg
Wilkinsburg has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Wilkinsburg, 84% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (84%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (70%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (70%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (45%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (52%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (46%)
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.
How Wilkinsburg compares with nearby cities
Wilkinsburg has the most crime of its 9 nearest cities.
Empty homes, transit and walkability in Wilkinsburg
Two things set Wilkinsburg apart: it has 19.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 42 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.19.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% 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 Wilkinsburg: C (34 of 100).42 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 97% 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+ (43 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% 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.0.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 95% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 87% 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 Wilkinsburg
Crime costs Wilkinsburg about $1,673 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 39% more 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 $52 million a year, or $3,729 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.8 million
$339
Rape
$510,000
$37
Robbery
$610,000
$44
Assault
$3.0 million
$213
Burglary
$430,000
$30
Theft
$850,000
$61
Vehicle theft
$1.4 million
$103
Arson
$54,000
$4
Vandalism
$1.2 million
$87
Total
$13 million
$917
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 Wilkinsburg 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 Wilkinsburg, PA average a SchoolGrade of F: 27% of students test proficient, against 28% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Wilkinsburg on SchoolGrade
