2016 Safest Places in Pennsylvania

by Susan Gulliford

Founded by William Penn in 1681, Pennsylvania is a state rich in history. Visitors and residents alike can see where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. The ValuePenguin team analyzed data for 227 communities in Pennsylvania with populations of at least 10,000 people to determine the safest communities. 

Final crimes ranged from 132 to over 7,900, so it is important that people research a community before they move there. Four out of the top five are part of the Philadelphia metro area. All of the communities had incomes above the state’s median household income; however, some of the places were significantly more affluent than Pennsylvania as a whole. 

5 Safest Places in Pennsylvania

These cities have an average crime score of 190, which is 84% lower than their typical peer in the state. With some of its lowest total violent and property crime rates, these five are the safest places in the state. 

1. Upper Providence Township

This community of slightly over 10,000 people is 15 miles west of Philadelphia. It had the lowest rate of property crime of any city in this study. Upper Providence Township is an affluent community with a median household income of $107,311 which is more than double the median household income of the state. This place is in Delaware County, so residents have the Brandywine Battlefield and the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge to visit nearby.

2. South Park Township

The second safest place is another small community that is part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in Allegheny County. It is the lone community in the western part of the state in the top five. South Park Township had the second-lowest rate of property crime in Pennsylvania. The median household income of $69,365 was $16,000 a year above the state’s median income. 

3. Buckingham Township

Opened for settlement around 1700, Buckingham Township has a long, rich history. Residents can visit many nearby historical sites such as Washington Crossing Historic Park, site of George Washington’s midnight crossing of the Delaware. It is the safest city in our mid-sized category with low rates of both violent and property crime. Buckingham Township is very affluent with a median household income ($119,620) and homeownership rate (92%) well above the norm for Pennsylvania.    

4. Northampton Township

Like Buckingham Township, this community is also located in historic Bucks County. It is the largest place in the top five with a population just under 40,000 people. Northampton Township has low rates of both violent and property crime. Of note, it recorded just six violent crimes for the year surveyed. It is 12 miles northeast of Philadelphia and is home to a very affluent population with a median household income of over $106,000.  

5. Willistown Township

The final place in our top five is a small community of just over 10,000 people in Chester County. Willistown Township boasts of its great location: approximately 20 miles from Wilmington, Delaware and 20 miles from Philadelphia. Founded in 1704, English Quakers were among its first settlers. There were only two violent crimes recorded in 2014. This community has a median household income that is over $48,000 higher, per year, than the median household in Pennsylvania, and it has a more educated population — 62% of its residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher — than the state as a whole.

Population Breakdown

Although we adjusted for population in our crime rankings, it is still difficult to compare a small town to a large city. To account for this fact, we separated the safest cities into three categories: towns with populations between 10,000 and 20,000, midsize cities with populations of 20,000 and 30,000, and larger cities with populations greater than 30,000. Here are our findings:

Full List of Places in Pennsylvania

Below is the entire list of places that we included in our “Safest Places in Pennsylvania” study. They are listed from the safest to the least safe, according to our analysis. The calculation for the crime scores can be found in the methodology section below. Take a look at the graph and see where your hometown ranks.

Year-over-year Change

When people pick a place to live, they want a consistently safe place. Upper Providence Township in Delaware County was the safest place in both ValuePenguin’s 2015 and 2016 studies. It had low rates of violent and property crimes in both years.

Buckingham Township was also very consistent. In both 2015 and 2016, it was the safest mid-sized community and ranked number three in the top five. This community delivers safety for people and their property.

The research results were consistent in another way. In both 2015 and 2016, four out of the top five safest places were in the eastern part of the state. Those four communities were all part of the Philadelphia metro area.

Methodology

To rank these places, we collected data from the 2014 FBI crime statistics by city, which provides the most recent crime data available. Not every town participates in this report and we also excluded towns with fewer than 5,000 residents because towns with small populations are more sensitive to crime score fluctuations for fewer crimes committed. The raw data report included property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson), and violent crimes (murder/manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) from all law enforcement agencies that chose to partake in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program.

We removed all cities with less than 10,000 in population. The FBI had data for 964 towns, 737 of which were under 10,000 in population.

We standardized the remaining data to reflect violent and property crimes per 100,000, to account for population. Then, we aggregated a “crime score” by weighting violent crime at 80% and property crime at 20%. Though property crime is more prevalent, we figured that violent crime is more concerning to town residents. Then we adjusted the crime score for population size, giving more slack to larger cities. Finally, we ranked the cities based on their crime scores. 

Here is a complete table of all cities included with their ranks, making it easier to compare different cities. See where your city lies!

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