Photo: 颐园居 · CC BY-SA 4.0Philadelphia records more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns
The rate the grade counts dropped 15% from 2023 to 2025. Its letter for safety is D−, worked out from crimes Philadelphia’s police reported over 2023 to 2025: #575 of 578 graded towns in Pennsylvania, and #304 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Police counts work out at 9.0 violent crimes and 46.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the rest of Pennsylvania they are 1.7 and 11.5. Each of the 6 towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident.
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 Philadelphia
6 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Pennsylvania towns on Philadelphia’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Lower Merion Township (B−), Bensalem Township (C), Upper Darby Township (C−), Tinicum Township (C−), Folcroft (C−), Cheltenham Township (D−). Yeadon reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Colwyn has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Philadelphia’s police reported 224 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 19.1 per 100,000 residents a year, 5.7 times the rest of Pennsylvania (3.3) and 3.4 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 9.5 times the rest of Pennsylvania
278 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (3,528 reported in 2025), 9.5 times the rest of Pennsylvania (29.3) and 3.5 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Philadelphia reports less crime per resident than 6% (#304). Places like it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell 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 Philadelphia’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Philadelphia | Rest of Pennsylvania | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 33.0 | 4.9 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 26.0 | 4.3 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 16.9 | 3.2 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 14.3 | 2.5 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Philadelphia | Rest of Pennsylvania | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 370 | 35.2 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 336 | 34.5 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 273 | 28.0 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 226 | 25.4 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Philadelphia’s police reported 224 homicides, 3,528 robberies and 12,854 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Pennsylvania and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Philadelphia property | Rest of Pennsylvania property | Philadelphia violent | Rest of Pennsylvania violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 43.2 | 12.5 | 10.4 | 2.1 |
| 2023 | 50.6 | 12.4 | 9.8 | 1.9 |
| 2024 | 45.5 | 11.7 | 9.1 | 1.7 |
| 2025 | 43.1 | 10.5 | 8.2 | 1.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Pennsylvania.
Crime in Philadelphia 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 8 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
80,152 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.
12,854 violent and 67,298 property, as reported to the FBI by Philadelphia’s police.
235 of the 666 people who died in crashes on Philadelphia’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Philadelphia had 628 fatal crashes in five years, in which 666 people died. 26 of those killed were cyclists. 57 died in crashes on an Interstate.
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Philadelphia has the 12th lowest rate.
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.
Philadelphia and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | D− | 9.0 | 46.4 |
| Bensalem Township | C | 0.9 | 26.7 |
| Upper Darby Township | C− | 2.5 | 30.7 |
| Yeadon | — | — | — |
| Lower Merion Township | B− | 0.6 | 16.0 |
| Colwyn | — | — | — |
| Tinicum Township | C− | 2.6 | 29.5 |
| Folcroft | C− | 3.9 | 24.7 |
| Cheltenham Township | D− | 2.6 | 61.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Yeadon reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Colwyn has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
U.S. cities of a million or more
| City | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | D− | 9.0 | 46.4 |
| New York City | D | 6.7 | 23.5 |
| Los Angeles | D | 7.4 | 21.9 |
| Chicago | D | 5.2 | 32.8 |
| Houston | D− | 10.4 | 42.0 |
| Phoenix | D | 7.6 | 22.8 |
| San Antonio | D− | 6.0 | 46.3 |
| San Diego | C− | 4.0 | 16.7 |
| Dallas | D | 6.3 | 34.7 |
| Fort Worth | D | 4.4 | 25.1 |
| Austin | D | 4.6 | 32.0 |
Every U.S. city of 1,000,000+ with a Safety Grade, largest first; each city’s own police figures, 2023–2025.
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 Philadelphia. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Philadelphia’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (1,562,379 in 2025); our figure for Philadelphia is 1,574,281 (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 Philadelphia
Is Philadelphia, PA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Philadelphia reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #575 of 578 in Pennsylvania. Its police reported 9.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.7 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Philadelphia?
9.0 violent and 46.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Pennsylvania reports 1.7 and 11.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Philadelphia in 2025?
Philadelphia’s police reported 224 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 14.3 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Philadelphia safer than Bensalem Township?
Bensalem Township reports less crime per resident than Philadelphia: Bensalem Township grades C for safety and Philadelphia D−. Bensalem Township’s police reported 0.9 violent and 26.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Philadelphia?
Philadelphia’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Philadelphia”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Philadelphia.
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.