The crime rate in Rochester is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 28 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Rochester is 1 in 36. Based on FBI crime data, Rochester is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Pennsylvania, Rochester has a crime rate that is higher than 94% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.

Separately, it is always interesting and important to compare a borough's crime rate with those of similarly sized communities - a fair comparison as larger cities tend to have more crime. NeighborhoodScout has done just that. With a population of 3,393, Rochester has a combined rate of violent and property crime that is very high compared to other places of similar population size. Regardless of whether Rochester does well or poorly compared to all other cities and towns in the US of all sizes, compared to places with a similar population, it fares badly. Few other communities of this size have a crime rate as high as Rochester.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Rochester does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Rochester.

From our analysis, we discovered that violent crime in Rochester occurs at a rate higher than in most communities of all population sizes in America. The chance that a person will become a victim of a violent crime in Rochester; such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape or murder; is 1 in 308. This equates to a rate of 3 per one thousand inhabitants.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Rochester's rate for property crime is 25 per one thousand population. This makes Rochester a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Rochester is one in 40.

Importantly, we found that Rochester has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the nation according to our analysis of FBI crime data. This is compared to communities of all sizes, from the smallest to the largest. In fact, your chance of getting your car stolen if you live in Rochester is one in 283.