The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Pennsylvania For 2022

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Pennsylvania For 2022

We turn to the greater Philadelphia area to reach Pennsylvania's most dangerous city, Chester. Chester is also the oldest city in Pennsylvania, so you'd think they'd have figured out how to keep crime down by now.

On the contrary, Chester had the second highest rate of burglaries in the state, with about one taking place each day over a year; quite a staggering rate for a city of just 33,905. Perhaps these thieves are trying to recoup their losses after a day out at the local casino and racetrack.

That doesn't explain Chester's second highest place ranking in murders per capita statewide, though, or Chester's status as the third most violent spot in PA.

Located a half-hour southeast of Pittsburgh, McKeesport ranks as the second most dangerous place to call home in Pennsylvania.The overall crime rate in McKeesport is 150% higher than the national average, and more than 250% higher than the statewide average.

McKeesport had the second highest violent crime rate in Pennsylvania, with 7 murders in 2020. That's enough for anyone to seek sanctuary at the nearby Renziehausen Park Rose Garden.

McKeesport isn't exactly low on property crime either. To give you an idea, McKeesport had the highest rate of burglaries in the state, so it's not the sort of place where it's okay to leave your door unlocked.

Coming in as Pennsylvania's third most dangerous city is Pottstown. While Pottstown had the least violent crime per capita of cities in the top five, it does have one troubling statistic -- the second highest rate of rape cases in the state. That's about three cases per month, which, for a borough of just 22,705, is all too common.

Pottstown also had the third highest property crime rate in the state. Maybe the local Steel River Playhouse should stage a production of Crime and Punishment to educate residents on the perils of a criminal life.

Pottstown is located about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

The Wilkinsburg Police Department have their work cut out for them. That's because the borough has the highest murder rate in PA, with 11 murders occurring over 2020 -- crazy high for a place with only 15,389 people.

On top of that, Wilkinsburg averaged more than one property crime each day of the year and had the third highest burglary rate in Pennsylvania. Those numbers are enough to put both Wilkinsburg's violent and property crime rates in the top ten statewide.

Wilkinsburg is located less than 10 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Situated on the Allegheny River just northeast of Pittsburgh, New Kensington ranks as the fifth most dangerous place in Pennsylvania.

Folks in New Ken had a 1 in 37 chance of being the victim of a property crime in 2020, so it's a city where you have to be on guard for porch pirates.

New Kensington also reported 65 violent crimes, so just about every week, one unlucky resident found themselves the victim of an attack.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital city, may have a lower overall crime rate than Philadelphia, but it's staggering amount of violent crime lands it on this list.

Harrisburg had the eighth highest rate of rape cases in the state for 2020. Additionally, there's a murder in Harrisburg just about every month, giving the city the fifth highest murder rate in Pennsylvania. All good reasons to hurry home from Riverfront Park once the sun starts going down.

And Harrisburg doesn't exactly redeem itself with infrequent property crime -- the city had the sixth highest burglary rate statewide.

Located about a half hour southwest of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre ranks as the seventh least safe to live in Pennsylvania.

There were 616 cases of larceny in Wilkes-Barre in 2020, so you'd be well-advised to keep your winning streak quiet after a big night at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Wilkes-Barre also had the fourth highest burglary rate in Pennsylvania, so it's not a bad idea to invest in extra security for your home here.

Wilkes-Barre also had the unfortunate distinction of having the tenth highest rate of rape cases in the state.

Swatara Township is the least violent place to feature on this list, but when it comes to property crime, I don't envy the workload of the Swatara Township Police Department.

Swatara Township experienced the fifth highest rate of property crime in Pennsylvania for 2020, with more than two property crimes happening each day, on average. The vast majority of those cases were larceny, so keep an eye on your valuables when you're going about your business in Swatara Township.

Swatara Township is located a short drive east of Harrisburg.

Situated southwest of Philadelphia's downtown, Darby Township comes in as the ninth most dangerous spot in Pennsylvania. Darby Township wasn't even in the top 100 most dangerous places to live statewide last year, so 2020 might just be a fluke. Either that or residents became so enamored with their tours of Eastern State Penitentiary that they decided to move into a prison full-time.

Seriously, though, Darby Township had the seventh highest murder rate and 46th highest rate of rape cases in Pennsylvania for 2020. That's partly because Darby Township is the smallest place on this list, but that's not going to make residents feel much better about living in the seventh most violent place in the whole state.

Pennsylvania's third-biggest city, Allentown, comes in as the state's tenth least safe place to live.

At least, between the baseball at Coca Cola Park and all the events at the PPL Center, Allentown residents have a lot of entertainment options to take their mind off the city's high crime rate.

Allentown had the seventh highest burglary rate in Pennsylvania and residents had a 1 in 43 shot of being the victim of any property crime in 2020. On the bright side, Allentown is among the least violent places on this list, with the lowest murder rate.

Still, you might consider moving to one of Allentown's best suburbs instead of living in the dangerous city itself.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Pennsylvania FAQs

Is Pennsylvania a dangerous state?

No, Pennsylvania is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #19 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in pennsylvania ranks 24th highest in the United States -- 0.44% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Keystone State ranks 34th highest in the United States -- 16.04% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Is Philadelphia, PA a dangerous city?

Yes, Philadelphia is a dangerous city. Philadelphia ranks as the #94 most dangerous out of 320 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Philadelphia might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Bustleton is the safest in Philadelphia, while Tioga-Nicetown is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Philadelphia ranks 50th highest in America -- 65.54% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 104th highest in the United States -- 16.61% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020 and that no city in America is 'dangerous'. Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.