Wilmington. (Newark, Camden: rent, high crime, how much)

[PreLives]

Is Wilmington a rough town? For a city, it's really small compared to close by Philly. And I assume its more tame and Jersey's Camden.

I know some areas I would not step foot in, but overall I'm assuming I dont have to worry about my ultimate safety walking thru that city... or should I?

[doctorjef]

I assume you're just referring to the City of Wilmington proper, rather than the much larger suburban area surrounding it. In the suburbs there is only occasional, rare crime against persons -- mainly purse snatching directed at elderly persons who are sometimes pushed down (which can be more dangerous for an old person than someone younger). Within the City of Wilmington there certainly do seem to be some small, violent areas that really can be dangerous for even those casually passing through on the streets. I don't think most of the City is particularly dangerous, though I would not like to be downtown late at night by myself or with just one or two other people.

[Joe84323]

These are copied and pasted from Mod cut - competing site They track FBI crime statistics. The numbers are below are per capita, which indicates how many crimes there are per 100k people. Obviously, if a town of 100 people has 10 murders, and a town of 1000000 has 20 murders, the town of 100 people is obviously more dangerous, despite the fact that the bigger town has murders. This is why per capita is used to compare cities of different sizes.

Lots of people underestimate Wilmington's crime because of the Delaware factor. Unfortunately, you have a city between Baltimore, Philadelphia, Camden, Chester, etc... it's not gonna be miraculously different due to the fact that it's in a small, unknown state.

I compared a few of the most dangerous cities in the country/region for some perspective.







And, for Comparison: a safe city:





The one good thing about small cities like Wilmington, Compton, and Newark is that you can get out of the ghetto a lot faster than you can a bigger city like Philadelphia or Detroit.

[Joe84323]

Edit: I want anybody who comes across this post in the future, or due to a google search to understand that these statistics are for the city limits only. Zip codes 19801, 802, 805, and 806. Don't let this deter you from moving to any other zip code, as they can be called Wilmington, but not be in the city limits, and be perfectly safe.

[armx]

Even though Joe has compiled info. based on statistical data he cited, one must be careful as to how much critical analysis was (or not) involved in that exercise.

Most of the crime occurs in the bad (and every city has them) part (home price range $30K to 80K) of the City. So the critical consideration is if the bad part is localized or does it pervade through the entire city including the areas where OP is probably going to choose to buy or rent, probably, a house costing over $200 K or rent more than $1100
.
For example, downtown Wilmington has been, for a long time, basically offices, restaurants for the lunch crowd and not much else. So after 6 pm, reason to visit or walk in the downtown area was a such a rare occurance - actually facilitates the crime element to conduct their business in isolation.

Mayor and City government have taken the bull by the horn by trying to change the complexion, demographics of the area by clearing undesirable areas (by eminent domain) and giving incentives to develpoers to build new and desirable housing so more white collar people will move to those areas - thanks to a lot of out of staters who hate any commute and were used to living near a thriving downtown before.

So the downtown is in transition and could be a place where people shop, eat and drink in the evening and the weekends, thereby, providing employment to local people and resulting in reduced crime.

Just another perspective - without any unreasonable (and probably unexperienced expert) blanket statements as to which zip codes are to be avoided or not.

[doctorjef]

I think, however, that the real high crime area isn't downtown at all, properly speaking, but rather in a portion of the Brandywine Village area, still within the Wilmington City limits. It's unfortunate, because Brandywine Village is the site of the Episcopal cathedral for the Diocese of Delaware, as well as some old buildings dating back to the late 18th Century.

[PreLives]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm thinking there are areas of Wilmington I would not feel comfortable in. It would be easy to spot those areas, as the houses would be in disrepair and boarded up.

[phlydude]

Keep in mind Wilmington is unusual compared to other areas I have seen where it could be a rougher element and then there is a switch to a nicer area followed by a reversion back to the rough area. There aren't a lot of physical boundaries that set these areas apart other than streets. Drive from Trolley Square down DuPont St and see what I mean...it changes 3 or 4 times in a matter of blocks. Very strange compared to having a highway or railroad tracks being a definitive border of the areas...it all just kind or melds together and makes finding that specific area a see in person experience.

[doctorjef]

OTOH the worst areas are all east of I-95 (the downtown side of the interstate).

[Joe84323]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

OTOH the worst areas are all east of I-95 (the downtown side of the interstate).

Oh no way, Jef. Eastside and Northeast and Riverside are bad, but the whole W. 4th street corridor lays west of 95, so does Browntown, Hedgeville, Greenhill, etc.. Hilltop alone counts for a good percentage of the city's shootings. True, that East is worst than West, but there are plenty bad areas along the 4th street corridor.