Safety · Reading
Reading, PA crime & safety
Reading's reported crime rate is close to Pennsylvania's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 256 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
Crime reported to police, trends and how Reading compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
TownTapestry Safety GradeNew
C
Reading’s Safety Grade: C
Reading reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 69% report less.
C-Violent crimeC+Property crime▼Improving since 2023
All U.S. towns we grade (6,620)Safer than 31%
More reported crimeLess reported crime
Pennsylvania towns we grade (270)Safer than 15%
Places of 25,000–100,000 people (1,259)Safer than 39%
High confidence. Built on 5,362 incidents over 3 years; ordinary year-to-year swings wouldn't change the grade.
How the Safety Grade works
- One score, from FBI data. Property crimes + 4 × violent crimes reported to police, per resident, pooled over the FBI’s latest 3 years (2023–2025). Violent crime counts four times as much because it matters more to how safe a place feels. It’s the same score behind our Safest towns in PA ranking.
- Graded on a national curve. Every U.S. town and city with 1,000+ residents that reported all 3 years (6,620 places) is lined up by score: A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Violent and property sub-grades use the same curve on each rate alone.
- Trend compares 2025 with 2023 and only says “improving” or “rising” when the change is bigger than normal year-to-year swings.
- Not graded: towns under 1,000 people, and towns missing any of the 3 years.
- What it can’t see: unreported crime, traffic safety, or which part of town incidents happen in. Towns with a campus, highway or big shopping center count incidents involving visitors. It’s our own summary of public data, not an official rating.
Reported crime, 2025
Reading at a glance
Violent crime
2.6
per 1,000 residents · Pennsylvania 2.3
Property crime
12.8
per 1,000 residents · Pennsylvania 13.6
Incidents reported
1,527
256 violent · 1,271 property
Since 2023
▼ 24%
change in reported property crime
Violent crime per 1,000
Property crime per 1,000
Trend
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025
ReadingPennsylvania
Solid lines: property crime · dashed: violent crime.
Show as a table
| Year | Reading property | Pennsylvania property | Reading violent | Pennsylvania violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 16.9 | 16.1 | 4.6 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 14.3 | 14.7 | 3.4 | 2.5 |
| 2025 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
What gets reported
2025, by type
Larceny / theft
864
Burglary
207
Vehicle theft
200
Aggravated assault
151
Robbery
80
Rape
14
Homicide
11
Arson
5
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Who keeps Reading safe
Local public safety
👮 Reading Police DepartmentReports its crime counts to the FBI — the figures on this page.
🚨 EmergenciesCall 911. For non-emergency numbers, alerts and preparedness, see the town guide.
Nearby
Reading and its neighbors
Reported crime per 1,000 residents in each town's latest year. * = a count, for towns under 1,000 people. Grade: the Safety Grade; — = not graded.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | C | 2.6 | 12.8 | 2025 |
| Cumru | — | 1.1 | 7.1 | 2025 |
| West Reading | — | 3.7 | 16.5 | 2025 |
| Wyomissing | — | 0.5 | 14.6 | 2025 |
| Muhlenberg | — | 0.6 | 16 | 2024 |
| Bern | — | 1 | 4.5 | 2025 |
No town figures in the FBI's data: Kenhorst, Lower Alsace, Mount Penn.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can't tell you
- It's reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many thefts and some assaults are never reported.
- Small numbers swing. In a town of about 99,300, a handful of incidents moves the rate noticeably from year to year. The trend matters more than any one year.
- Visitors count too. Towns with a campus, highway, beach or shopping center see incidents involving people who don't live there, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn't report a full year, not that nothing happened.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. This isn't an official statement of public safety — in an emergency, call 911.