Crime rates for Bethlehem, PA

The crime rate in Bethlehem is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 34 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Bethlehem is 1 in 29. Based on FBI crime data, Bethlehem is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Pennsylvania, Bethlehem has a crime rate that is higher than 80% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.

However, compared to other communities of similar population size, Bethlehem has a crime rate that is noticeably lower than the average. This means that for comparably sized cities all across America, Bethlehem is actually safer than most according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis of FBI crime data.

The crime data that NeighborhoodScout used for this analysis are the seven offenses from the uniform crime reports, collected by the FBI from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, and include both violent and property crimes, combined.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Bethlehem does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Bethlehem.

From our analysis, we discovered that violent crime in Bethlehem occurs at a rate higher than in most communities of all population sizes in America. The chance that a person will become a victim of a violent crime in Bethlehem – such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape or murder – is 1 in 320. This equates to a rate of 3 per one thousand inhabitants.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Bethlehem's rate for property crime is 31 per one thousand population. This makes Bethlehem a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Bethlehem is one in 32.