Crime & Safety in Lancaster, PA

Violent and property crime rates, clearance data, and trends — 2024 Data

Crime Overview

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer (2024)

Violent Crime Rate

4.62

per 1,000 residents

+3% vs national

Property Crime Rate

14.52

per 1,000 residents

-33% vs national

Total Crimes

1,089

2024

Violent Clearance

65%

cases solved

+53% vs national

Property Clearance

24%

cases solved

vs Similar Cities

+38%

vs 50K-100K avg

+38% vs 50K-100K

YoY Change

+46.9%

violent crime rate

worsening vs 2023

How Lancaster Compares

Source: FBI (2024)

Lancaster vs Similar Cities

Source: FBI (2024)

Compared to cities with 50,000 - 100,000 residents. Lancaster is highlighted in green.

Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000)

Property Crime Rate (per 1,000)

Murder Rate (per 1,000)

Violent Crime Clearance Rate

Crime Rate Trends

Source: FBI
Violent 194.7%Property 34.1%20152024

Crime Composition

Source: FBI (2024)

Violent Crime Breakdown

Property Crime Breakdown

Crime Clearance (Solve) Rates

Source: FBI (2024)

Lancaster police solve 100% of murder cases but only 18% of motor vehicle theft cases. The national violent crime clearance rate is 42%.

Weapon Used in Violent Crime

Source: FBI (2024)

Crime Breakdown

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer (2024)
Crime TypeCategoryCountRate per 1KClearance %
MurderViolent20.04100.0%
RapeViolent180.3250.0%
RobberyViolent160.2850.0%
Aggravated AssaultViolent2263.9766.8%
BurglaryProperty611.0741.0%
Larceny/TheftProperty67211.8122.9%
Motor Vehicle TheftProperty931.6318.3%

Lancaster, PA reported 263 violent crimes and 826 property crimes in 2024. The violent crime rate of 4.62 per 1,000 residents is 3.2% above the national average of 4.48 per 1,000. Law enforcement cleared 65% of violent crimes. Larceny/theft accounts for 672 of the property crime reports. Firearms were involved in 24.8% of aggravated assaults. Compared to similarly sized cities (50,000 - 100,000 population), Lancaster's violent crime rate is 38% higher. Violent crime has been trending upward.

Crime History

Source: FBI
YearViolentPropertyViolent RateProperty Rate
20242638264.6214.52
20231808933.1515.61
2022000.000.00
20203501,1125.9118.76
2019213431.2219.97
2018363202.0818.53
2017334261.9224.73
2016213401.2219.72
2015273791.5722.02

School Shootings

Source: The Washington Post

Total Incidents

1

Total Killed

0

Total Injured

0

DateSchoolKilledInjuredTypeWeapon
Jan 15, 2014King Elementary School00unclearhandgun

Data from The Washington Post, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.