Downtown, Allentown, PA Violent Crime Rates and Maps

Downtown is a neighborhood of 4,780 residents in Allentown, close to downtown · Updated November 2026

How common is violent crime in Downtown?

Downtown grades B+ for violent crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 73% of Americans live. Assaults make up 91% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Allentown as a whole grades A- for violent crime.

B+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™Safety score 712 of 1,000
More violent crime than most US neighborhoods What this means

27% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Downtown as a whole, and 73% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Downtown scores 712.

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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.

B
Overall crimeSafety score 682 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoods
B
Property crimeSafety score 631 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoods

How it works


Violent crime map of Downtown

Map of Downtown shaded by violent crime 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 violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Downtown, Allentown, PA at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Downtown in Allentown, 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


Violent crime rates and types in Downtown

CrimeGrade™ estimates Downtown has about 20 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 51% more than the US as a whole and 90% more than Allentown as a whole.

All violent crime

Assaults

Robbery

Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.

Assault is the most common violent crime in Downtown, about 91% of the total.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
MurderB+under 10.060.05
RapeB+20.430.38
RobberyA-61.20.62
AssaultB8818.512.3

Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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.


Violent crime in Downtown and nearby neighborhoods

Downtown has less violent crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.

Nearby neighborhoods

PlaceViolentOverallResidents
DowntownB+712B4,780
Old Allentown 1 mileC+487C-7,970
Jordan Heights 1 mileC+515C-8,240
Fairview 1 mileB663B6,030
West End Theatre District 2 milesA-818B+6,110
Show all 10
PlaceViolentOverallResidents
West Walnut 1 mileB+742B5,480
West Park 1 mileB+739B+6,720
Eighth Ward 1 mileB-605B-6,850
1st Ward 1 mileC+522C+3,290
NoTi 1 mileB-572C+4,430
6th Ward 1 mileB625B-3,540

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

Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Downtown is safer than 68% of them.

Neighborhoods of similar size and density

PlaceViolentOverallResidents
DowntownB+712B4,780
Waltham Highlands, Waltham, MAA882A4,790
Edgewood, Cranston, RIA848A-4,790
Sharon, Orem, UTA-836A-4,790
South Elmwood, Providence, RIB+762B+4,780
Show all 10
PlaceViolentOverallResidents
Downtown Berkeley, Berkeley, CAB+752C-4,790
Roosevelt, Seattle, WAB685F4,770
Downtown, Manchester, NHB658B4,770
Italian Village, Columbus, OHC+534C-4,770
Canaryville, Chicago, ILD+286D-4,780
Lafayette Park, Detroit, MID+240D4,770

Jobs, nightlife and walkability in Downtown

Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Downtown apart: it has 171 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 2.5 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more robbery than places with only one of them.

JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.171 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.2.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 94% 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 assault. 88% of residents here live in walkable areas.A (83 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 86% 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 robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Downtown: C (33 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 violent crime costs Downtown

Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Downtown about $7.3 million a year, or $1,521 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $1.7 million, or $364 per resident.

Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year


How CrimeGrade™ works

The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.

It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.

The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Downtown 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
  • 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