Somerset, PA is higher-crime than most U.S. cities, and earns a B PlainCrime safety grade, where violent crime runs 2% above the U.S. average
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, Somerset, PA shows violent crime at 358.9 per 100,000 residents and property crime at 444.3 per 100,000. Violent crime runs 2% above the U.S. average. PlainCrime assigns grade B from those rates. Figures are voluntary agency submissions joined to population denominators; incomplete coverage can move the number.
B safety grade
358.9/100K violent
444.3/100K property
+2% vs U.S.
What the 2024 FBI UCR record shows for Somerset, PA
Offense mix
Violent offenses make up an unusually large share of the reported mix
Violent offenses are 44.7% of the 47 Part I offenses reported in Somerset for 2024, against a median of 10.0% across comparable Pennsylvania cities — a gap of 34.7 points. Offense mix is shaped by which agencies report and how incidents are classified as well as by the underlying offenses, so it describes the reported record rather than a settled difference in conditions.
2020–2024 direction
The reported violent-crime rate ended the window higher
Across 4 comparable reporting years, the rate moved from 206.5 per 100,000 in 2020 to 358.9 in 2024 (+73.7%). The highest observed value was 436.5 in 2022 and the lowest 206.5 in 2020. Years whose submission failed the completeness test are left out of this comparison rather than plotted as change.
Small-count caution
The violent-crime count is small enough that the derived rate is unstable
Somerset reported 21 violent offences in 2024 against a population of 5,852. At this volume one additional or one fewer report moves the per-100,000 rate noticeably, so the figure is better read as a data point than as a precise measurement, and year-to-year swings here are expected.
Position in the state cohort
Somerset reported a higher violent-crime rate than most comparable Pennsylvania cities
At 358.9 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, Somerset ranks 72 of 838 — above 766 of the 837 other Pennsylvania cities whose 2024 submission passes this site’s completeness test. That is +449.4% against the cohort median of 65.3. Cities that did not report, or that reported implausibly low totals, are excluded from this cohort rather than counted as low-crime.
Comparable rate records
Somerset's closest reported-rate comparisons are in the Pennsylvania cohort
The nearest comparable 2024 records to Somerset's 358.9 violent-crime rate per 100,000 are Kennedy Township (359.2), Greenville (365.8), West Hazleton (348.1), Penn Hills (369.9). These are same-year agency submissions that pass the same completeness screen, not a claim that the cities have identical conditions. They make the cohort position above checkable against named records instead of a generic state average.
Property-offense composition
Burglary and vehicle theft carry more of the property total than they do across the cohort
Larceny-theft is 76.9% of reported property offenses in Somerset, against a cohort median of 85.9%. The remainder is burglary (5) and motor vehicle theft (1). Composition differences of this size usually track what kinds of places and property are present in a jurisdiction.
Somerset's FBI UCR Table 8 municipal row keeps violent and property totals in a closer balance. Per-100,000 rates use the reporting-year population on that row; incomplete reporters stay out of rate rankings. A citywide figure rarely describes any single neighbourhood inside the municipal boundary.
Based on 21 reported violent incidents in a population of 5,852. At this volume, one additional or one fewer report can shift the rate and letter grade noticeably; small-city crime counts are inherently more volatile year to year than large-city counts, so treat this grade as a data point, not a precise ranking.
Small-city offense counts above are voluntary UCR submissions, not neighbourhood advice. Year-to-year swings can look large when the population base is modest.
Somerset's 2024 municipal footprint
Across 2.7 Census sq mi, Somerset logged 9.5 property and 7.7 violent offenses per square mile in 2024.
Somerset leans on aggravated assault at 45% of reported offenses, with a moderate mix index of 3,925.
Violent offenses are 45% of the municipal total - a violence-heavy book for a small city.
Density uses Census Gazetteer land area (2.7 sq mi); mix index is HHI x 10,000 on the offense-type shares above. Distinct from the per-100K rates in the hero.
Property rate moved most (2023→2024)
Property Crime Rate
-53.9%
963 → 444.3/100K
Violent Crime Rate
+41.6%
253.4 → 358.9/100K
Somerset's 2024 offense mix (violent and property)
Offense
Count
Rate /100K
vs PA
Property Crime
26
444.3
1457.1
Larceny-Theft
20
341.8
-
Burglary
5
85.4
-
Motor Vehicle Theft
1
17.1
-
Arson
0
0
-
Violent Crime
21
358.9
249.5
Aggravated Assault
21
358.9
-
Murder
0
0
-
Rape
0
0
-
Robbery
0
0
-
Somerset Crime Trend (2020-2024)
The chart omits 2021 rather than drawing an unsupported zero or partial-coverage dip. The table preserves the year and marks the gap.
Somerset violent crime rate trend
Secondary series · rose · 2020-2024 · FBI UCR
Violent crime rate (2024)
358.9/100K↑41.6%vs 2023
Somerset property crime rate trend
Lead series · fell across 4 comparable years · FBI UCR
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are the U.S. national averagesRead the chart as a list
Somerset: 359 violent, 444 property per 100,000 (grade B)
Media: 205 violent, 1589 property per 100,000 (grade B)
Pine Creek Township: 0 violent, 103 property per 100,000 (grade A+)
Norwood: 170 violent, 494 property per 100,000 (grade A)
Clairton: 425 violent, 1174 property per 100,000 (grade C)
Oxford: 272 violent, 731 property per 100,000 (grade B)
Franklin: 119 violent, 2121 property per 100,000 (grade B)
Millcreek Township, Lebanon County: 0 violent, 221 property per 100,000 (grade A+)
Somerset Police Department
Reporting agency for Somerset Summary Reporting (SRS)
Somerset Police Department filed the 2024 UCR row behind Somerset's 47 reported offenses (4-year span 2020-2024, with internal gaps).
This agency reports via the traditional Summary Reporting System (SRS): aggregate monthly offense counts rather than incident-level detail.
Similar-Size Cities in Pennsylvania
Crime rates read differently at different scales, so these are the Pennsylvania cities closest to Somerset in population. Their populations run from 5,839 to 5,894, against 5,852 here. Or use our
side-by-side compare tool
to benchmark two cities directly.
In 2024, Somerset reported 21 violent crimes and 26 property crimes, for a total of 47 reported offenses.
Is crime increasing or decreasing in Somerset?
From 2023 to 2024, Somerset's violent crime rate increased by 41.6%, and the property crime rate decreased by 53.9%.
What is the most common crime in Somerset?
The most common crime type in Somerset is aggravated assault, accounting for 44.7% of all reported crimes (21 incidents in 2024).
Small-city read: Somerset is sourced from FBI UCR Table 8 for 2024; rates use that row's population.
Small-city rows use the same per-100,000 formula; a few unreported years can leave gaps in the trend table. Verify the agency's submission on FBI.gov UCR.
Disclaimer (small city): UCR counts here are informational only. They are not a victimization probability. Source: FBI UCR Program.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program CIUS Table 8 municipal crime rates · 2024 Somerset, PA rates use the reporting-year population on the municipal row.