In spite of the fact that its largest city, Philadelphia, logged a crime rate nearly 3 times higher than the national rate in 2018, Pennsylvania recorded violent and property crime rates significantly below the national averages. This indicates that the relative safety of its smaller municipalities more than balances higher crime in the state’s urban areas. Let’s examine Pennsylvania’s 5 safest municipalities, all of which are designated as townships.
The safest community in Pennsylvania is Penn Township of Westmoreland County, 1 of 13 townships in the state that share the same name. Penn Township’s 1.55 per 1,000 violent crime rate is impressive, yet not lower than others on the list. What really distinguishes Penn Township is its near nonexistent level of property crime: only a single crime of this nature was recorded in 2018.
South Park Township is the 2nd safest municipality in Pennsylvania. The Allegheny County township of 13.3K is located near Pittsburgh and logged just 3 violent crimes in 2018, for a rate of 0.23 offenses per 1,000.
#3 Upper Providence Township is a small community around 15 miles west of Philadelphia, yet is worlds away in terms of safety. The affluent community recorded 2018 violent and property crime rates that were a small fraction of those of the nearby large city.
4th on the list is Towamencin Township, a community of 18,443 with origins hailing back to the early 18th Century. Like Pennsylvania’s other safest municipalities, Towamencin boasts a violent crime rate significantly lower than 1 offense per 1,000.
Rounding out the top 5 is Upper Gwynedd Township, a Philadelphia suburb connected to the larger city by rail that logged less than 10 violent crimes in 2018.
Pennsylvania’s Safest Cities
PA City Population Violent
crimeProperty
crimeLaw enforcement
employeesTotal crimes Crime rate per 1,000 Violent crimes per 1,000 Property crimes per 1,000 Law enforcement per 1,000
1 Penn Township, Westmoreland County 19297 30 1 23 31 1.61 1.55 0.05 1.19
2 South Park Township 13332 3 23 17 26 1.95 0.23 1.73 1.28
3 Upper Providence Township, Delaware County 10478 4 18 15 22 2.10 0.38 1.72 1.43
4 Towamencin Township 18443 12 45 24 57 3.09 0.65 2.44 1.30
5 Upper Gwynedd Township 15958 9 52 24 61 3.82 0.56 3.26 1.50
6 Buckingham Township 20311 1 70 24 71 3.50 0.05 3.45 1.18
7 Silver Spring Township 18078 3 67 25 70 3.87 0.17 3.71 1.38
8 Franklin Park 14706 3 43 13 46 3.13 0.20 2.92 0.88
9 Upper Allen Township 20123 7 68 24 75 3.73 0.35 3.38 1.19
10 Cecil Township 12633 2 54 21 56 4.43 0.16 4.27 1.66
11 Adams Township, Butler County 14105 3 46 14 49 3.47 0.21 3.26 0.99
12 Northampton Township 39289 12 144 49 156 3.97 0.31 3.67 1.25
13 South Fayette Township 15788 2 59 18 61 3.86 0.13 3.74 1.14
14 Lower Salford Township 15440 7 60 21 67 4.34 0.45 3.89 1.36
15 Warwick Township, Bucks County 14618 12 54 19 66 4.51 0.82 3.69 1.30
16 Franconia Township 13343 3 47 12 50 3.75 0.22 3.52 0.90
17 West Deer Township 11973 1 48 12 49 4.09 0.08 4.01 1.00
18 Upper Saucon Township 17121 2 79 21 81 4.73 0.12 4.61 1.23
19 Central Bucks Regional 15584 9 83 30 92 5.90 0.58 5.33 1.93
20 Hampton Township 18318 14 67 19 81 4.42 0.76 3.66 1.04
21 Ferguson Township 19551 8 88 24 96 4.91 0.41 4.50 1.23
22 West Mifflin 19773 29 93 38 122 6.17 1.47 4.70 1.92
23 Murrysville 19759 4 92 23 96 4.86 0.20 4.66 1.16
24 Pennridge Regional 11013 5 53 15 58 5.27 0.45 4.81 1.36
25 New Britain Township 11252 3 56 15 59 5.24 0.27 4.98 1.33
26 Upper Southampton Township 15038 6 87 25 93 6.18 0.40 5.79 1.66
27 Plumstead Township 14244 11 66 18 77 5.41 0.77 4.63 1.26
28 Upper St. Clair Township 19758 8 119 34 127 6.43 0.40 6.02 1.72
29 Newtown Township, Bucks County 22880 5 128 32 133 5.81 0.22 5.59 1.40
30 Douglass Township, Montgomery County 10644 8 50 13 58 5.45 0.75 4.70 1.22
31 McCandless 28475 5 140 30 145 5.09 0.18 4.92 1.05
32 Upper Uwchlan Township 11506 0 56 11 56 4.87 0.00 4.87 0.96
33 Northwest Lancaster County Regional 20029 4 100 21 104 5.19 0.20 4.99 1.05
34 Northern Lancaster County Regional 36089 20 136 26 156 4.32 0.55 3.77 0.72
35 Southern Chester County Regional 14974 16 71 18 87 5.81 1.07 4.74 1.20
36 Baldwin Borough 19586 17 104 25 121 6.18 0.87 5.31 1.28
37 Horsham Township 26615 7 190 48 197 7.40 0.26 7.14 1.80
38 East Pennsboro Township 21750 11 113 22 124 5.70 0.51 5.20 1.01
39 Forks Township 15545 8 98 22 106 6.82 0.51 6.30 1.42
40 Buffalo Valley Regional 12660 4 75 15 79 6.24 0.32 5.92 1.18
41 Elizabeth Township 13087 9 63 12 72 5.50 0.69 4.81 0.92
42 Hampden Township 30399 10 156 26 166 5.46 0.33 5.13 0.86
43 Jefferson Hills Borough 11309 20 60 16 80 7.07 1.77 5.31 1.41
44 Easttown Township 10668 17 56 14 73 6.84 1.59 5.25 1.31
45 Warrington Township 24582 18 158 35 176 7.16 0.73 6.43 1.42
46 Upper Macungie Township 24995 7 164 32 171 6.84 0.28 6.56 1.28
47 Lower Makefield Township 32768 10 219 42 229 6.99 0.31 6.68 1.28
48 Uwchlan Township 19044 16 111 22 127 6.67 0.84 5.83 1.16
49 New Hanover Township 13201 2 69 10 71 5.38 0.15 5.23 0.76
50 Lower Providence Township 27051 33 154 33 187 6.91 1.22 5.69 1.22
51 Northern Regional 35447 6 201 31 207 5.84 0.17 5.67 0.87
52 Mount Lebanon 32239 23 241 54 264 8.19 0.71 7.48 1.67
53 Lower Saucon Township 10824 10 76 17 86 7.95 0.92 7.02 1.57
54 Carlisle 19335 18 145 34 163 8.43 0.93 7.50 1.76
55 West Lampeter Township 16092 9 93 16 102 6.34 0.56 5.78 0.99
56 Newtown Township, Delaware County 13571 5 100 20 105 7.74 0.37 7.37 1.47
57 North Middleton Township 11682 6 67 11 73 6.25 0.51 5.74 0.94
58 Amity Township 13076 4 84 14 88 6.73 0.31 6.42 1.07
59 Peters Township 22136 12 135 23 147 6.64 0.54 6.10 1.04
60 Lower Burrell 11155 9 84 18 93 8.34 0.81 7.53 1.61
61 North Strabane Township 14703 27 86 20 113 7.69 1.84 5.85 1.36
62 Radnor Township 31935 31 223 46 254 7.95 0.97 6.98 1.44
63 Tredyffrin Township 29575 12 238 48 250 8.45 0.41 8.05 1.62
64 Southwestern Regional 17789 23 90 15 113 6.35 1.29 5.06 0.84
65 North Versailles Township 12127 35 85 24 120 9.90 2.89 7.01 1.98
66 Patton Township 16142 5 125 21 130 8.05 0.31 7.74 1.30
67 State College 58781 20 448 71 468 7.96 0.34 7.62 1.21
68 East Whiteland Township 12085 3 107 19 110 9.10 0.25 8.85 1.57
69 Manor Township, Lancaster County 21090 24 129 21 153 7.25 1.14 6.12 1.00
70 Elizabethtown 11591 21 88 19 109 9.40 1.81 7.59 1.64
71 Plum 27274 65 150 30 215 7.88 2.38 5.50 1.10
72 Warminster Township 32395 25 282 49 307 9.48 0.77 8.71 1.51
73 Bethel Park 32417 11 282 44 293 9.04 0.34 8.70 1.36
74 Slate Belt Regional 12451 35 99 23 134 10.76 2.81 7.95 1.85
75 Southern Regional York County 11515 15 93 16 108 9.38 1.30 8.08 1.39
76 Doylestown Township 17430 15 141 22 156 8.95 0.86 8.09 1.26
77 West Hills Regional 10032 6 82 12 88 8.77 0.60 8.17 1.20
78 West Hempfield Township 16598 18 143 24 161 9.70 1.08 8.62 1.45
79 Penn Township, York County 16511 22 143 25 165 9.99 1.33 8.66 1.51
80 Shaler Township 28039 20 211 28 231 8.24 0.71 7.53 1.00
81 Lansdale 16633 15 176 32 191 11.48 0.90 10.58 1.92
82 Hopewell Township 12711 22 98 16 120 9.44 1.73 7.71 1.26
83 Moon Township 25758 20 233 34 253 9.82 0.78 9.05 1.32
84 Northern Berks Regional 13366 8 118 16 126 9.43 0.60 8.83 1.20
85 Ephrata 13956 23 175 38 198 14.19 1.65 12.54 2.72
86 Hatfield Township 21048 22 194 29 216 10.26 1.05 9.22 1.38
87 West Goshen Township 23160 34 223 36 257 11.10 1.47 9.63 1.55
88 Springfield Township, Montgomery County 19751 24 193 30 217 10.99 1.22 9.77 1.52
89 Scott Township, Allegheny County 16567 18 157 23 175 10.56 1.09 9.48 1.39
90 Lehigh Township, Northampton County 10479 18 87 13 105 10.02 1.72 8.30 1.24
91 East Hempfield Township 24694 32 244 37 276 11.18 1.30 9.88 1.50
92 Haverford Township 49422 24 563 82 587 11.88 0.49 11.39 1.66
93 Salisbury Township 13977 8 154 22 162 11.59 0.57 11.02 1.57
94 Exeter Township, Berks County 25956 24 247 33 271 10.44 0.92 9.52 1.27
95 Cumru Township 15387 13 170 25 183 11.89 0.84 11.05 1.62
96 Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County 24445 11 250 32 261 10.68 0.45 10.23 1.31
97 Meadville 12917 21 157 28 178 13.78 1.63 12.15 2.17
98 Hilltown Township 15467 10 156 20 166 10.73 0.65 10.09 1.29
99 Cranberry Township 31154 8 302 34 310 9.95 0.26 9.69 1.09
100 West Chester 20299 37 309 64 346 17.05 1.82 15.22 3.15
101 Phoenixville 17012 32 192 31 224 13.17 1.88 11.29 1.82
102 Aston Township 16708 6 164 18 170 10.17 0.36 9.82 1.08
103 Nether Providence Township 13770 12 135 16 147 10.68 0.87 9.80 1.16
104 Fairview Township, York County 17555 39 137 18 176 10.03 2.22 7.80 1.03
105 Palmer Township 21512 13 264 36 277 12.88 0.60 12.27 1.67
106 North Huntingdon Township 30414 15 291 31 306 10.06 0.49 9.57 1.02
107 Lower Gwynedd Township 11543 3 145 19 148 12.82 0.26 12.56 1.65
108 Montgomery Township 26299 7 338 45 345 13.12 0.27 12.85 1.71
109 Lower Moreland Township 13204 4 122 12 126 9.54 0.30 9.24 0.91
110 Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County 25197 46 296 45 342 13.57 1.83 11.75 1.79
111 Mifflin County Regional 16941 22 129 13 151 8.91 1.30 7.61 0.77
112 Spring Township, Berks County 27528 21 273 30 294 10.68 0.76 9.92 1.09
113 Logan Township 12364 16 137 18 153 12.37 1.29 11.08 1.46
114 Ridley Township 31190 27 323 37 350 11.22 0.87 10.36 1.19
115 Hazleton 24637 117 229 44 346 14.04 4.75 9.29 1.79
116 Millcreek Township, Erie County 53422 137 564 81 701 13.12 2.56 10.56 1.52
117 Northern York County Regional 69814 36 623 55 659 9.44 0.52 8.92 0.79
118 Lower Merion Township 59262 32 973 149 1005 16.96 0.54 16.42 2.51
119 Emmaus 11490 7 164 22 171 14.88 0.61 14.27 1.91
120 St. Marys City 12279 13 138 16 151 12.30 1.06 11.24 1.30
121 Falls Township, Bucks County 33854 42 448 61 490 14.47 1.24 13.23 1.80
122 Northeastern Regional 11878 7 127 13 134 11.28 0.59 10.69 1.09
123 Easton 27158 69 388 66 457 16.83 2.54 14.29 2.43
124 Derry Township, Dauphin County 25131 40 379 59 419 16.67 1.59 15.08 2.35
125 Manheim Township 40395 50 556 76 606 15.00 1.24 13.76 1.88
126 Lower Allen Township 19539 14 231 25 245 12.54 0.72 11.82 1.28
127 North Fayette Township 14935 6 214 26 220 14.73 0.40 14.33 1.74
128 Lower Pottsgrove Township 12128 39 136 19 175 14.43 3.22 11.21 1.57
129 Bethlehem Township 23983 18 323 35 341 14.22 0.75 13.47 1.46
130 Dunmore 12933 23 169 20 192 14.85 1.78 13.07 1.55
131 Upper Darby Township 82931 439 873 145 1312 15.82 5.29 10.53 1.75
132 Middletown Township 45185 33 610 63 643 14.23 0.73 13.50 1.39
133 Norristown 34531 139 511 81 650 18.82 4.03 14.80 2.35
134 Bloomsburg Town 14145 35 194 23 229 16.19 2.47 13.72 1.63
135 Abington Township, Montgomery County 55631 44 949 109 993 17.85 0.79 17.06 1.96
136 Limerick Township 19144 8 309 32 317 16.56 0.42 16.14 1.67
137 Columbia 10436 19 176 22 195 18.69 1.82 16.86 2.11
138 Marple Township 23872 4 355 32 359 15.04 0.17 14.87 1.34
139 Waynesboro 10920 13 189 22 202 18.50 1.19 17.31 2.01
140 Newberry Township 15749 22 200 18 222 14.10 1.40 12.70 1.14
141 Central Berks Regional 13309 20 201 21 221 16.61 1.50 15.10 1.58
142 Lower Paxton Township 49296 87 665 65 752 15.25 1.76 13.49 1.32
143 Bethlehem 75809 207 1281 165 1488 19.63 2.73 16.90 2.18
144 Richland Township, Bucks County 13388 18 180 16 198 14.79 1.34 13.44 1.20
145 Nanticoke 10253 15 154 15 169 16.48 1.46 15.02 1.46
146 Kingston 12836 23 201 21 224 17.45 1.79 15.66 1.64
147 Upper Moreland Township 24182 22 419 43 441 18.24 0.91 17.33 1.78
148 Lower Southampton Township 19230 68 278 33 346 17.99 3.54 14.46 1.72
149 Monroeville 27628 63 481 56 544 19.69 2.28 17.41 2.03
150 West Norriton Township 15708 32 259 28 291 18.53 2.04 16.49 1.78
151 Robinson Township, Allegheny County 13673 20 272 31 292 21.36 1.46 19.89 2.27
152 Pottsville 13529 44 227 24 271 20.03 3.25 16.78 1.77
153 Greensburg 14217 58 292 38 350 24.62 4.08 20.54 2.67
154 Indiana 13039 117 140 22 257 19.71 8.97 10.74 1.69
155 East Norriton Township 14085 43 267 29 310 22.01 3.05 18.96 2.06
156 Sandy Township 10475 31 134 11 165 15.75 2.96 12.79 1.05
157 Plymouth Township, Montgomery County 17756 26 448 53 474 26.70 1.46 25.23 2.98
158 Bensalem Township 60588 70 1292 127 1362 22.48 1.16 21.32 2.10
159 Erie 96758 299 1880 198 2179 22.52 3.09 19.43 2.05
160 North Lebanon Township 12042 29 176 14 205 17.02 2.41 14.62 1.16
161 Altoona 43840 165 686 66 851 19.41 3.76 15.65 1.51
162 Berwick 10030 37 181 18 218 21.73 3.69 18.05 1.79
163 Ross Township 30541 20 582 45 602 19.71 0.65 19.06 1.47
164 Lebanon 25816 83 469 44 552 21.38 3.22 18.17 1.70
165 Caln Township 14316 39 272 24 311 21.72 2.72 19.00 1.68
166 Pocono Mountain Regional 42712 83 630 41 713 16.69 1.94 14.75 0.96
167 Bristol Township 53684 95 973 71 1068 19.89 1.77 18.12 1.32
168 South Whitehall Township 19918 13 483 41 496 24.90 0.65 24.25 2.06
169 Springfield Township, Delaware County 24259 13 507 37 520 21.44 0.54 20.90 1.53
170 Upper Chichester Township 17002 43 303 22 346 20.35 2.53 17.82 1.29
171 East Lampeter Township 17133 9 457 39 466 27.20 0.53 26.67 2.28
172 Penn Hills 41143 169 674 53 843 20.49 4.11 16.38 1.29
173 Hanover Township, Luzerne County 10843 41 205 17 246 22.69 3.78 18.91 1.57
174 Philadelphia 1586916 14420 49145 7366 63565 40.06 9.09 30.97 4.64
175 Pocono Township 10855 29 241 19 270 24.87 2.67 22.20 1.75
176 Lansdowne 10650 26 237 18 263 24.69 2.44 22.25 1.69
177 Allentown 121743 412 2821 232 3233 26.56 3.38 23.17 1.91
178 Cheltenham Township 37501 70 995 79 1065 28.40 1.87 26.53 2.11
179 Rostraver Township 11023 8 260 17 268 24.31 0.73 23.59 1.54
180 Harrisburg 49147 531 1252 168 1783 36.28 10.80 25.47 3.42
181 Pittsburgh 302544 1751 9125 999 10876 35.95 5.79 30.16 3.30
182 Coal Township 10329 57 163 12 220 21.30 5.52 15.78 1.16
183 West Whiteland Township 18393 12 431 27 443 24.09 0.65 23.43 1.47
184 Scranton 77827 811 1505 170 2316 29.76 10.42 19.34 2.18
185 Lancaster 59761 419 1580 163 1999 33.45 7.01 26.44 2.73
186 Reading 88466 621 1984 182 2605 29.45 7.02 22.43 2.06
187 Colonial Regional 17966 6 448 27 454 25.27 0.33 24.94 1.50
188 Muhlenberg Township 20303 22 503 31 525 25.86 1.08 24.77 1.53
189 Butler 13017 40 347 24 387 29.73 3.07 26.66 1.84
190 Upper Merion Township 30673 23 1105 85 1128 36.78 0.75 36.03 2.77
191 Stroud Area Regional 34887 66 944 59 1010 28.95 1.89 27.06 1.69
192 Hermitage 15531 19 497 33 516 33.22 1.22 32.00 2.12
193 Chambersburg 20962 60 577 37 637 30.39 2.86 27.53 1.77
194 Spring Garden Township 13120 51 339 22 390 29.73 3.89 25.84 1.68
195 Hanover 15653 49 437 28 486 31.05 3.13 27.92 1.79
196 Butler Township, Butler County 16542 25 431 23 456 27.57 1.51 26.05 1.39
197 Center Township 11439 38 324 20 362 31.65 3.32 28.32 1.75
198 McKeesport 20915 320 506 55 826 39.49 15.30 24.19 2.63
199 West Manchester Township 18833 27 551 30 578 30.69 1.43 29.26 1.59
200 Sharon 13154 65 414 29 479 36.41 4.94 31.47 2.20
201 Washington, Washington County 13505 101 418 33 519 38.43 7.48 30.95 2.44
202 Richland Township, Cambria County 11940 7 420 23 427 35.76 0.59 35.18 1.93
203 Swatara Township 26532 94 866 52 960 36.18 3.54 32.64 1.96
204 Pottstown 22792 196 753 56 949 41.64 8.60 33.04 2.46
205 New Kensington 12377 70 382 22 452 36.52 5.66 30.86 1.78
206 Chester 34087 474 1151 96 1625 47.67 13.91 33.77 2.82
207 Johnstown 20877 240 620 43 860 41.19 11.50 29.70 2.06
208 Springettsbury Township 26833 43 845 33 888 33.09 1.60 31.49 1.23
209 Darby 10702 149 346 18 495 46.25 13.92 32.33 1.68
Methodology
To identify the safest cities, we reviewed the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics. We eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and cities with populations under 10,000. This left 3,381 cities (out of a total of 9,251).
There are two broad classifications of crimes: violent crimes and non-violent crimes. According to the FBI, “Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses that involve force or threat of force. Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims. ”
We computed the total number of crimes reported by each city by adding violent crimes and property crimes. We then created a crime rate as the number of crimes per 1,000 population. Then we transformed the total crime rate variable so that the skewness was reduced and normalized.
Data from 2,831 law enforcement agencies was then collected to determine police adequacy (TotalCrimes / Number of police employees). We consider that the smaller the police adequacy statistic is, the safer the city is. This variable was also transformed and normalized.
Finally, the two variables were combined to create a safety score for each city.
