Middletown, Bristol Among PA's 25 Safest Cities, Analysis Says

Murder. Rape. Theft. Burglary. Fraud.

These are some of the most-feared crimes. But where are they most likely to happen in your home state? A new analysis of the safest cities in Pennsylvania attempts to show just that.

The list, just released by professional security organization SafeHome, profiles the top 25 safest cities in the Keystone State based reports of crimes most feared by Americans.

Two Levittown-area municipalities, Middletown Township and Bristol Township, made the list.

The SafeHome analysis compiled law enforcement enforcement data from the FBI and, utilizing the Chapman University Survey of American Fears, focused on rates of the most-feared crimes. (According to that survey, Americans fear murder, rape, theft, burglary, fraud, identity theft the most.)

Crime were weighted between 100 percent and 60 percent. Weights are determined by a combination of seriousness (as determined by FBI) and society’s fear (as determined by a large 2016 study by Chapman University). The number of law enforcement officers compared to the population, as well as population density was also considered. (You can read the full methodology here.)

Many Philadelphia-area cities are among those where the most-feared crimes are least likely to happen.

Four of the 100 safest cities in the nation are within Pennsylvania, says SafeHome. That list looked at cities with a population greater than 50,000. Of the 25 safest cities, Northampton Township, Bucks County, came out on top. That list looked at cities with a population of at least 39,000.

Here is the full list of the 25 safest cities where the most-feared crimes are least-likely to happen, according to SafeHome:

1. Northampton Township
2. Haverford Township
3. State College
4. York Area Regional
5. Lower Merion Township
6. Northern York Regional
7. Manheim Township
8. Abington Township
9. Pocono Mountain Regional
10. Millcreek Township
11. Lower Paxon Township
12. Upper Darby
13. Middletown Township
14. Altoona
15. Bristol Township
16. Penn Hills
17. Erie
18. Scranton
19. Allentown
20. Bensalem Township
21. Reading
22. Pittsburgh
23. York
24. Philadelphia
25. Lancaster

PHOTO: Northampton Township via Google maps