SAFEROUTE

Safety index · Central, Philadelphia · data through November 2026

Is Chinatown, Philadelphia safe?

Chinatown records a high level of reported crime for Philadelphia. Its SafeRoute safety index is 29 out of 100 — 25 points below the citywide median of 54, ranking 147th of 151 Philadelphia neighborhoods — based on 4,837 incidents reported to the Philadelphia Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 10 months to November 2026.

29/100
Elevated
SafeRoute safety index for the area within 1 km of the center of Chinatown — higher is safer. 147th of 151 Philadelphia neighborhoods.

DATA THROUGH NOVEMBER 2026 · 10 MONTHS OF DATA

The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Philadelphia — a typical Philadelphia neighborhood sits near 54. It ranks Chinatown against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.

Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 41% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.

Reported incidents here skew to daytime and evening hours — only about 11% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).

Where incidents cluster

Spring Garden StreetDelaware Expressway neighborhood center 500 m N ↑
1 dot = 1 report · darker = more severe · rings every 250 m from the neighborhood center4,837 incidents reported within 1 km of the Chinatown center (500 shown) · Philadelphia Police data through November 2026 · basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors. Reports cluster toward the south-west of the map — the area immediately around the neighborhood center is comparatively quiet.
Open Chinatown on the live interactive map →

What's reported here

Other theft
1,971 · 41%
Violent crime
1,076 · 22%
Other
654 · 14%
Vehicle crime
363 · 8%
Criminal damage & arson
294 · 6%
Robbery
144 · 3%

When it happens

6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aMON–FRI6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aSAT–SUN

Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.

Is Philadelphia safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →

Walking in Chinatown at night?

SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same official crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Compare the routes and share your walk. Free, no account.

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Nearby areas

Common questions

Is Chinatown safe at night?

Elevated overall (safety index 29/100). About 37% of severity-weighted incidents in Chinatown are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.

What is the most common crime in Chinatown?

Other theft — 1,971 of 4,837 incidents (41%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 10 months to November 2026.

How is the Chinatown safety index calculated?

SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the Philadelphia Police Department by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the neighborhood center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within Philadelphia, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.