Pennsylvania is home to 13.02 million residents; Harrisburg is its capital and Philadelphia its largest city · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania ranks 26th safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC for violent crime, with a CrimeGrade™ of A. Assaults make up 90% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 852 of 1,00026th safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Pennsylvania as a whole, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Pennsylvania 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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
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 Pennsylvania at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Pennsylvania, 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 about violent crime in Pennsylvania
Crime per resident runs lower than the grade suggests. Few people work in, shop in or visit Pennsylvania compared with the number who live there, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ weighs each crime against the people, homes and parked cars actually here.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Pennsylvania
Most of Pennsylvania grades well for violent crime: 86% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 10% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Pennsylvania run from A+ to F.
86%10%
A or B 86%C 4%D or F 10%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 67 counties, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Cities of 10,000 or more residents, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Violent crime rates and types in Pennsylvania
CrimeGrade™ estimates Pennsylvania has about 9.0 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 33% less than the US 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 Pennsylvania, about 90% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 50% of the cost of violent crime here.
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 Pennsylvania and nearby states
Pennsylvania has less violent crime than 5 of its 8 nearest states.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Pennsylvania. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with states of similar size, Pennsylvania is safer than 78% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Pennsylvania apart: it has 7 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Pennsylvania: D (12 of 100).7 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 80% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.27% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 69% of Americans
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 Pennsylvania
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Pennsylvania about $14.29 billion a year, or $1,098 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $2.88 billion, or $222 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 80% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.22 billion
$94
Rape
$223 million
$17
Robbery
$215 million
$17
Assault
$1.23 billion
$94
Total
$2.88 billion
$222
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.
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.
