Philadelphia

Is Philadelphia safe?

Mostly, for a visitor who stays in Center City and the nearby neighbourhoods. Philadelphia has had one of the steepest falls in violence of any US city: 562 people were killed in 2021, a record, and 222 in 2025. By late October 2026 the count was 147, down another 23%.

That still leaves a homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary of about 14 per 100,000 in 2025, close to Chicago and four times New York. Theft is very common, and the roads kill more people per head than in most big US cities. We score Philadelphia 63.

Where the violence is

Very little of it is in the parts of the city that visitors see. Shootings cluster in North Philadelphia (Kensington, Fairhill, Strawberry Mansion), West Philadelphia west of the University City campuses, and Southwest Philadelphia. The historic district around Independence Mall, Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square West and Society Hill have the same street crime as any busy downtown, not the gun violence of the outer neighbourhoods.

The FBI's figures give a sense of scale: 831 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2025, against 330 for the US. The police chiefs' survey counted 3,523 robberies and 8,459 aggravated assaults that year. The city's open crime data show total violent crime only about 1% lower in 2026 to late October, a much slower fall than for homicides.

Theft, cars and shoplifting

Property crime is the everyday risk. Philadelphia's rate of 4,355 per 100,000 is almost three times the national average, similar to Seattle. For visitors that mainly means:

• Car break-ins. Leave nothing visible in a parked car, especially on residential streets in Fishtown, Northern Liberties and South Philadelphia, and around the stadiums.
• Phone snatching on SEPTA trains and platforms, mostly near the doors.
• Bag theft at outdoor tables in Center City in summer.

Tourist scams are uncommon. Pickpockets work the crowds at Reading Terminal Market and on parade days, but not on a European scale.

Kensington and the city at night

Kensington is the part of Philadelphia that shapes its reputation. The stretch of Kensington Avenue under the Market-Frankford elevated line has been the East Coast's biggest open-air drug market for years, now dominated by xylazine ("tranq"). The city has run repeated clean-ups since 2024, but the problem has moved rather than gone. There is no reason for a visitor to be there, and the Market-Frankford Line north of Girard station can be unpleasant late at night.

Elsewhere, evenings are lively and generally fine. Rittenhouse Square, the Gayborhood, Old City, Passyunk Avenue and Fishtown's Frankford Avenue are busy until late. University City is calm around Penn and Drexel but gets quieter and riskier a few blocks west. The UK government's general advice for the US, not to walk alone through quieter areas at night, applies well to Philadelphia.

Roads, air and weather

Philadelphia's streets are dangerous by US city standards. The city's November 2025 Vision Zero plan, using PennDOT data, counts 120 traffic deaths in 2024, about 7.7 per 100,000, and says deaths have stayed at 120 or more every year since 2020. Roosevelt Boulevard, a 12-lane road through the Northeast, is the most notorious. Downtown's narrow grid is safer; take care on wide roads such as Broad Street and Delaware Avenue.

Among the US cities we score, only Los Angeles has dirtier air. EPA monitors in the city averaged 9.2 to 10.6 µg/m³ of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary over 2023 to 2025, around the federal limit of 9 and twice the WHO guideline. Canadian wildfire smoke in 2023 made it worse. Hospital care is excellent, but expensive without insurance.

Summer heat is the most common weather risk, and the city issues heat health emergencies when it gets dangerous. Flooding is the other: when the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit in September 2021, the Schuylkill River rose over its banks and flooded the Vine Street Expressway.

How to stay safe in Philadelphia

• Stay in Center City, Old City, Society Hill or Rittenhouse, or near Penn in University City.
• Skip Kensington Avenue entirely, and take a ride app rather than the Market-Frankford Line north of Girard at night.
• Leave nothing in your car, even for a short stop.
• Cross Roosevelt Boulevard and Broad Street only at signals, and watch for cars turning right.

For guns, healthcare costs and entry rules, read our United States page. Washington, DC, two hours south, has a similar mix of safe tourist core and violent outer districts.

How we scored it

Health and environment (78) and natural hazards (78) are the strongest factors, thanks to world-class hospitals and few extreme hazards, though only Los Angeles has dirtier air among our US cities. Theft and scams (55) and violent crime (56) are the weakest: homicides are falling fast, but a rate of about 14 per 100,000 in 2025 still sits in the 10 to 25 band. Traffic safety (60) reflects a death rate close to Los Angeles.