Safest Cities in Pennsylvania (2026 Rankings)

Feeling unsure about where it's safe to live in Pennsylvania? You're not alone.

Statewide, violent crime climbed to 5.72 incidents per 1,000 residents in 2026 - above the national average - and property crime nearly doubled year over year. It's no surprise that only 40% of Pennsylvanians now say they feel safe, down from 55% the year before, and roughly two-thirds say they worry about safety daily. It's a big part of why "is Pennsylvania a safe place to live" and "safe cities in Pennsylvania" are two of the most common questions house hunters type into Google this year.

But the state-level number only tells part of the story. Underneath it, a cluster of townships and boroughs are getting safer every year - some reporting zero murders, zero rapes, or zero burglaries in the latest FBI data. This guide breaks down the safest cities in Pennsylvania for 2026, whether you're a young family, a retiree, or a remote worker house-hunting this year, and it's updated regularly as new safest cities in Pennsylvania data becomes available. Whether you've been searching for the safest towns in PA, the safest places to live in Pennsylvania, or simply the safest place to live in PA for your budget, this list is built to answer it. If you're also weighing this against Pennsylvania's best places to live more broadly - factoring in schools, jobs, and cost of living, not just crime - we cover that tradeoff below too.

Ready to see where you'll feel most secure in PA? Let's rank the safest towns and cities in the state.

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It depends which number you look at. Pennsylvania's violent crime rate (5.72 per 1,000) now sits above the national average (4.43), and property crime has climbed sharply - driven largely by a spike in package theft, which now affects roughly 44% of residents each year, the second-highest rate in the country. So when people ask "is Pennsylvania a safe place to live," the honest answer is: the state average is uneven, but the safest areas in Pennsylvania - many of them the suburbs and townships covered in this guide - post crime numbers well below both the state and national averages.

If affordability is also part of your decision, understanding the cost to build a house in Pennsylvania can help you compare the long-term costs of building versus buying in different communities.

Here's a closer look at the safest cities in Pennsylvania, organized by region, so you can match a shortlist to wherever you actually need to live or work.

Safety is only one part of choosing where to live. Before narrowing your shortlist, consider other factors involved in evaluating a property location, including schools, amenities, commute times, and future development.

This corridor is home to several of the safest cities in Pennsylvania. Cecil Township has topped the statewide list two years running with no murders or burglaries reported. Cranberry Township and Franklin Park both reported zero motor-vehicle thefts and other serious crimes in the latest data, while still offering commuter access into the city.

Both townships showed year-over-year improvement rather than just a low starting point - Hampden's violent and property crime rates fell, and Upper Allen has now posted declining property crime for three straight years. It's worth noting that Harrisburg PA itself, the capital of Pennsylvania, doesn't make this safest-cities list; its surrounding townships are the ones driving the region's strong safety numbers.

For buyers who want to balance safety with affordability, Pittsburgh is also highlighted among the U.S. markets where starter homes remain comparatively accessible.

Bucks and Chester County communities round out this list of the safest cities in Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. Several reported zero rapes or robberies in the latest FBI figures, and Collegeville - home to Ursinus College - continues to post a violent crime rate roughly a third of the statewide average.

Among all 300+ ranked municipalities (not just larger townships), Bellefonte reports the lowest violent crime rate in the state - effectively zero per 100k residents - holding its own against the larger townships on this list if you're open to a smaller, more rural community.

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A lot of people searching for the safest cities in Pennsylvania are also comparing specific cities and towns by name - so it's worth being upfront about where they stand. Easton PA , Allentown PA, Reading PA, Wilkes-Barre PA, Altoona PA, Charleroi PA, Shamokin PA, Roseto PA, Oil City PA, and Lewisberry PA all come up regularly in local safety searches, but none of them currently rank among the top 10 safest places in Pennsylvania based on the latest FBI crime data - some, like Allentown, Reading, and Wilkes-Barre, are larger cities with the mixed-neighborhood crime patterns typical of urban cores, while smaller towns like Charleroi, Shamokin, Roseto, Oil City, and Lewisberry simply don't publish enough population-adjusted crime data to be reliably ranked against townships like Cecil or Cranberry. If any of these are on your shortlist, it's worth pulling neighborhood-level crime data directly rather than relying on citywide averages - and if you're planning a visit, it doesn't hurt to check the weather for Reading PA or the weather in Lebanon PA before you tour homes, since central and eastern PA can vary a lot by season.

Living in one of the safest cities in Pennsylvania comes with real tradeoffs, not just upside.

• Some of the lowest violent crime rates in the country
• Active, well-resourced community policing
• Multi-year downward trends in several townships, not just a one-year snapshot
• Strong fit for families and retirees prioritizing safety

• Statewide property crime and package theft are both rising, even in otherwise safe regions
• Safer townships often carry higher home prices and property taxes than the state average. Because property taxes can significantly change the total cost of owning a home, buyers should compare the tax burden alongside the purchase price. If you're trying to balance neighborhood safety with affordability, comparing affordable starter homes can help identify communities where total ownership costs are more manageable.
• Some of the safest towns have less nightlife, retail, or job diversity than nearby cities
• Rankings vary by source, so it's worth checking more than one methodology before deciding

Once you've narrowed down the safest towns in PA that fit your life, the next question is usually financial: what will it actually cost to buy there, and how do you get started?

Your purchase price is only part of the equation. Property taxes, insurance, and other recurring expenses can materially change the monthly cost of owning a home, so it's important to evaluate the full cost before choosing a Pennsylvania community.

The real estate market in Pennsylvania's safest suburbs tends to move differently than the state's urban cores - inventory is often tighter, and home value in townships like Cecil, Hampden, and Warwick has historically held up better than the statewide average, in part because buyer demand for safety keeps competition steady even when the broader housing market softens.

Whether you're a first-time home buyer or moving within Pennsylvania, getting pre-approved for a mortgage (not just pre-qualified) gives you a real budget to work with before you start touring homes. If you're unsure about the difference, our guide to mortgage pre-qualification vs. pre-approval explains what each option tells you and when you should use it. A pre-qualified mortgage loan is a quick estimate based on self-reported numbers; a pre-approved mortgage loan involves an actual mortgage lender pre-approval process that verifies your income, credit, and down payment - and it's what most sellers in competitive safe-suburb markets expect to see with an offer. Comparing mortgage lenders during pre-approval, rather than settling for the first home financing pre-approval you're offered, can also save you money over the life of the loan.

Because home values in the safest cities in Pennsylvania often run higher than the state median, even small differences in your mortgage rate can add up. It's worth taking time to compare mortgage rates and comparing home loan rates across a few lenders - looking at the current rate for a home mortgage, any mortgage insurance cost tied to your down payment size, and the total house closing cost - rather than accepting the first offer from a single lender. Today's mortgage rate and current housing mortgage rates shift often enough that even a quick comparison of average mortgage rates across two or three lenders is worth the extra hour. If you already own elsewhere in PA, exploring current rates for a mortgage refinance is worth doing too, especially if today's rate for a home mortgage is lower than what you locked in previously.

First-time home buyers in Pennsylvania have access to state and local first-time home buyer programs and down payment assistance, and some lenders offer low- or no-down-payment home mortgage options for qualified buyers. If you're comparing loans for first-time home buyers or a first-time home owners loan, ask each lender about program eligibility, the average mortgage price for your target range, and how their pre-approval process works - the details vary more than the advertised rate does. (If you're relocating out of state, it's also worth checking whether your destination, such as Florida first-time home buyer programs, offers different assistance than Pennsylvania does.)

Online home value estimates can be a useful starting point for understanding a home's approximate value or recent local housing prices. However, in the safest cities in Pennsylvania, in-person comparable sales provided by a local real estate agent are often more reliable, as limited housing inventory can cause online estimates to lag behind actual sale prices.