Scranton is the seventh-largest city in Pennsylvania, with 76,200 residents in Lackawanna County · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Scranton?
Violent crime is high in Scranton: a B-, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 80% of Americans live. Assaults make up 90% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 611 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
20% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Scranton as a whole, and 80% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Scranton scores 611.
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 Scranton, PA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Scranton, 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 Scranton
Robbery is a strength. Scranton grades B- for violent crime, but robbery grades A.
Aggravated assaults are less common than in most cities graded B for violent crime. Scranton has 1.5 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US city graded B for violent crime, the figure is 3.3.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Scranton
Low violent crime is the norm across Scranton: 67% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 7% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Scranton run from A+ to D.
67%26%
A or B 67%C 26%D or F 7%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1The Plot & Green Ridge, northeastClose to the rest of Scranton on most crimes.B+701
2Providence & North Scranton, northClose to the rest of Scranton on most crimes.B633
4Minooka, southwestSimple assaults run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Scranton.B-577
5South Side, southClose to the rest of Scranton on most crimes.C+479
6West Side, westAggravated assaults run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Scranton.C428
Neighborhood areas of Scranton, ranked by violent crime 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 violent crime going up in Scranton?
Reported violent crime in Scranton has fallen 82% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 16 to 2.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
ScrantonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Scranton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Scranton
Violent, US
2016
-82%
+4%
2017
-83%
+4%
2018
-32%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-40%
+4%
2021
-74%
+6%
2022
-73%
+5%
2023
-80%
+2%
2024
-82%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Scranton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Scranton has about 13 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and 48% more than Pennsylvania.
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 Scranton, about 90% of the total.
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.
Where and when violent crime happens in Scranton
Scranton has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Scranton, 54% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 53% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (53%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (54%)
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.
Violent crime in Scranton and nearby cities
Scranton has the most violent crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Scranton apart: it has a Walk Grade of B- (48 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 51% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more assault, and it runs high here.
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.B- (48 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 91% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Scranton: F (1 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.51% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.46 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 56% 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 violent crime costs Scranton
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Scranton about $132 million a year, or $1,737 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $26 million, or $338 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 81% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$12 million
$155
Rape
$4.2 million
$55
Robbery
$750,000
$10
Assault
$9.1 million
$119
Total
$26 million
$338
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.
