Photo: Original uploader was Jgera5 at en.wikipedia · Public domainLess property crime is recorded per resident in New Castle than in 60% of U.S. towns
For every 1,000 residents, 1.9 violent crimes and 8.7 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the rest of Pennsylvania, the figures are 2.9 and 17.5. 3 of the 4 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. New Castle grades B for safety overall (#399 of 578 graded towns in Pennsylvania): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of PA” is every other Pennsylvania city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in New Castle
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Pennsylvania towns on New Castle’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: North Beaver Township (A+), Neshannock Township (A+), Shenango Township (A), Union Township (C−). Hickory Township has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Pennsylvania towns, closer to the middle
Pennsylvania’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so New Castle’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 31% of the 578 Pennsylvania towns we grade, against 55% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Reported crime is rising
Crime reported per resident rose from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind New Castle’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds New Castle’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down. Its violent rate (1.9) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | New Castle | Rest of Pennsylvania | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.0 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
New Castle’s police reported 121 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in New Castle per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | New Castle property | Rest of Pennsylvania property | New Castle violent | Rest of Pennsylvania violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.0 | 19.1 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| 2024 | 10.4 | 17.4 | 0.8 | 2.9 |
| 2025 | 15.9 | 16.1 | 4.9 | 2.6 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident rose from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025, against the rest of Pennsylvania.
440 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
103 violent and 337 property, as reported to the FBI by New Castle’s police.
Two people died in crashes on New Castle’s roads in 2019–2023
New Castle had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died.
That is fewer than is typical for Pennsylvania towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of New Castle’s size would see about 6 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so New Castle’s own rate (1.9) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
New Castle and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | B | 1.9 | 8.7 |
| Shenango Township | A | 0.3 | 4.1 |
| North Beaver Township | A+ | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Neshannock Township | A+ | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Union Township | C− | 1.9 | 28.9 |
| Hickory Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Hickory Township has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Pennsylvania towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | B | 1.9 | 8.7 |
| Springfield Township | A− | 0.3 | 7.0 |
| Hatfield Township | B+ | 0.5 | 8.0 |
| Limerick Township | B | 0.3 | 13.2 |
| West Whiteland Township | B | 0.8 | 13.0 |
| Lower Allen Township | B | 0.6 | 14.1 |
The five graded Pennsylvania towns closest to New Castle’s population (21,175), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of New Castle. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against New Castle’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (21,192 in 2025); our figure for New Castle is 21,175 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in New Castle
Is New Castle, PA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, New Castle reports less crime per resident than 55% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #399 of 578 in Pennsylvania. Its police reported 1.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in New Castle?
1.9 violent and 8.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Pennsylvania reports 2.9 and 17.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is New Castle safer than Shenango Township?
Shenango Township reports less crime per resident than New Castle: Shenango Township grades A for safety and New Castle B. Shenango Township’s police reported 0.3 violent and 4.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices New Castle?
New Castle’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “New Castle”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in New Castle.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.