Holiday Break-Ins Spike In PA, Despite Declines In Most Of Nation

PENNSYLVANIA — For thieves, there's no place like a Pennsylvania home for the holidays. Burglaries rise across several states during the festive season, but few saw a greater surge in the crime last December than the Keystone State, according to a new report analyzing FBI data.

About 1 million burglaries take place in the United States each year, with roughly 83,000 occurring in December, according to Porch, a software company that specializes in home-security systems. On the national level, burglaries peak during the summer months, but Pennsylvania has a different story.

Compared to the average month, Pennsylvania burglaries increase 40 percent in December — tied for second in the nation with Illinois and only trailing New Jersey (59 percent), according to Porch.

Each holiday burglary in Pennsylvania averages slightly more than $2,000 in estimated stolen property. That's 16th in the nation, with California leading the U.S. with $5,929 in property stolen during each December break-in, the report states.

There's one silver lining: the rate of reported burglaries around Pennsylvania aren't as common as a decade ago, despite an increase from 2019-20. From 2011-20, Pennsylvania went from 454.9 burglaries per 100,000 people to 248.6. During that span, the nation went from a burglary rate of 701.3 to 314.2 offenses per 100,000 people.

"Holiday burglaries may be more common in some places than in others," Porch's report states, "but it’s worth keeping in mind that overall, burglaries are in decline in the United States and have been for forty years."

View Porch's full report on holiday break-ins.