Pottsville, PA Crime Map

Pottsville, PA Safety Overview: A City That Earns Its Grades

With a population of 13,549 and an overall crime grade of B+, Pottsville stands out as one of Pennsylvania's safer small cities — and the neighborhood-level data backs that up. Across all 17 neighborhoods analyzed, every single one earned an A grade, meaning 100% of Pottsville's communities fall into the safest tier. That kind of consistency is rare, and it tells a meaningful story about day-to-day life in Schuylkill County's county seat.

Where Safety Is Strongest

The neighborhoods leading Pottsville's safety rankings share a common thread: higher household incomes relative to the city's median of $39,154. Forest Hills tops the list with an A+ grade and a median household income of $92,152, followed closely by Forest Hills West (A+, $92,047) and Hillside (A+, $91,732). Morrisville rounds out the A+ tier with a median income of $90,279 despite having just 42 residents. Larger neighborhoods like Greenwood Hill (A, $73,348) and Quinntown (A, $65,359) demonstrate that strong safety grades aren't limited to small, affluent enclaves — communities with over 1,000 residents achieve them too.

Understanding the Grade Distribution

The grade distribution across Pottsville's 17 neighborhoods is striking in its uniformity: 100% earned an A, and not a single neighborhood scored a B, C, D, or F. Even the areas identified as relatively higher-crime — Guinea Hill (A-), Center City (A), Mount Hope (A), Fishbach (A), and Jalappa (A) — still fall comfortably within the safest classification tier. Guinea Hill's A- is the only grade below a full A in the entire city, which puts Pottsville's so-called higher-crime zones in a very different context than what residents of larger cities might expect from that label.

Property Crime vs. Violent Crime in Pottsville

Like most small cities with a poverty rate of 19.8% and an unemployment rate of 8.2%, Pottsville sees property-related incidents more frequently than violent crime. Opportunistic offenses such as theft and burglary tend to concentrate around commercial corridors and higher-density areas like Center City, where foot traffic and mixed land use create more opportunity. Violent crime, by contrast, remains relatively infrequent across the city and does not define any single neighborhood's safety profile — a key reason why every community here still grades out at an A level. The city's low median home value of $75,786 and median rent of $720 reflect an affordable housing market, which can influence both residential stability and the types of incidents that do occur.

How the Interactive Crime Map Helps Residents Decide

Pottsville's crime map is a practical decision-making tool, not just a data dashboard. Home buyers weighing the difference between Greenwood Hill and Center City can use neighborhood-level grades to understand how safety profiles shift even within a compact city of 1,255 residents per square mile. Renters comparing Cottage Hill East (A, $61,053 median income) against Cottage Hill West (A, $47,647) can look beyond the grade to see how income levels and incident patterns differ block by block. For daily commuters moving through downtown or along the city's main corridors, the map's time-based filters help identify whether incidents cluster during morning or evening hours. In a city where every neighborhood grades out at an A, the map's real value is in the nuance — helping residents move from a broad sense of safety to a precise understanding of their specific block, route, or investment.