New Jersey’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

New Jersey consistently boasts some of the lowest crime rates in the country, but New Jersey residents express the eighteenth-highest level of concern about their safety. Despite years of low crime rates, just 46% of residents say they feel safe in The Garden State. This report explores the contradiction in New Jersey’s perception of safety versus how safe the state really is.

New Jersey's crime rates are lower than nationwide averages, In fact, The Garden State boasts the ninth-lowest violent crime rate and the tenth-lowest property crime rate in the nation.

With numbers like that, it's no surprise that the New Jersey survey respondents who worry about their safety on a daily basis dipped 18% year over year, to 45%. But overall confidence in the state's safety took a hit, with 46% saying they feel safe in the state, versus 58% in our last survey.

Survey respondents in New Jersey reported a significant decline in personal experience with property crime, and concern about property crime followed suit, falling from 56% to 46% year over year. The state's property crime rate is lower than the national average, even though it's risen from 11.3 incidents per 1,000 people in our 2022 report to 15.7 this year.

• New Jersey's property crime rate of 15.7 incidents per 1,000 people is the tenth-lowest in the nation.
• Fewer survey respondents (19%) reported personal experiences with property crime this reporting year compared to the previous year (24%). That's the third lowest in the US.
• 31% of participants reported experiencing package theft, making New Jersey the tenth lowest state for falling victim to package theft (US 35%).
• 67% of people in New Jersey use some form of property protection, compared to 75% nationwide.
• The top form of property protection in New Jersey was security cameras with 37% of survey respondents using them. This is lower than the national average of 39%.
• 3 in 10 New Jersey respondents (30%) said they increased their security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey (US 35%).

New Jersey's violent crime rate of 2.8 incidents per 1,000 people is the ninth-lowest in the US. Reported experience with violent crime fell year over year, from 22% to 9%.

• 46% of people in New Jersey reported feeling safe in their state compared to 50% of Americans.
• Experience with violent crime dropped 59% year over year, making The Garden State the fourth-lowest state for violent crime experience.
• 22% of survey participants report using some form of personal protection—lower than the US average (36%). 
• Pepper spray is the most common form of personal protection used, with 41% saying they carry it—that's 1 point lower than the national average.
• 46% of respondents said they feel safe in New Jersey, close to the nationwide average of 45%.

• Gun violence is the only issue where concern increased year over year, rising from 47% to 52% who said they worry about it on a daily basis.
• 6% of survey participants reported experiencing gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey, a 54% drop year over year.
• Mass shooting incidents in New Jersey increased from 9 incidents in 2022 to 12 in 2023.
• 11% of New Jersey respondents who use some kind of property protection, rely on firearms to protect their homes (US 28%).
• 14% of those who carry personal protection said they use concealed carry firearms for self defense, compared to 41% nationwide.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• We weren't able to rank cities in New Jersey last year, so we don't have any year over year comparisons.
• 102 cities met criteria to be considered for ranking.
• Vernon Township is the safest city in New Jersey, with zero violent crimes reports and only 35 property crimes.
• Jefferson Township was the top city two years ago, and remains strong as the third-safest city in New Jersey this year.
• No city on our list reported more than 25 total violent crimes.
• Denville Township also reported zero violent crimes.
• 4 cities reported just 2 burglaries: Vernon Township, Jefferson Township, New Milford, and Dumont.
• The collective violent crime rate of the safest cities is 0.3 incidents per 1,000 people—90% lower than the statewide rate of 2.8.
• The collective property crime rate of the safest cities is 4.5 incidents per 1,000 people—71% below the statewide average of 15.7.

• Best Home Security Systems
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• The Best Personal Safety Devices for Every Situation

Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

• 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.