Safest Cities in New Jersey 2026
New Jersey has 4 cities in our database with a statewide violent crime rate of 535.6 per 100,000 residents. The safest city is Newark with a Safety Context Score of 62/100. All rates are per capita — never raw counts.
| # | City | Population | Violent/100K | Property/100K | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newark | 312K | 403 | 2,059 | C (62) |
| 2 | Lakewood | 135K | 603.1 | 1,619 | C (60) |
| 3 | Jersey City | 292K | 574.9 | 1,481 | C (55) |
| 4 | Paterson | 160K | 665.3 | 2,176 | D (45) |
All rates per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI UCR 2023.
Crime statistics for New Jersey cities are derived from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data. All figures represent per-capita rates per 100,000 residents, not raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on FBI crime data and our Safety Context Score, Newark is the safest city in New Jersey with a score of 62/100 (Grade C), a violent crime rate of 403 per 100,000, and a property crime rate of 2,059 per 100,000.
Cities are ranked using our Safety Context Score (0-100), which weighs violent crime rate vs. national average (40%), property crime rate vs. national average (30%), and 5-year trend direction (30%). All rates are per 100,000 residents — never raw counts.
Crime in New Jersey has increased 0.0% over the past 5 years based on FBI data.
Safety Context Score: violent crime vs. national average (40%), property crime vs. national average (30%), 5-year trend (30%). All rates per 100,000 residents.