What Cities in New Jersey Made the List?
While perceived by many as an extension of the safe and bustling New York metro region, New Jersey has several pockets with surprisingly high crime lurking just outside the major urban hubs. Despite most suburban areas maintaining exceptionally low crime rates, statewide statistics reveal at least 10 cities with consistent and elevated violence or property violations.
Using the FBI’s most recent 2021 Uniform Crime Reporting figures, we uncovered the Garden State municipalities currently contending with the greatest threats to public safety relative to their size. In developing this ranked list, consideration was given not only to violent assaults but also the prevalence of offenses against personal property.
#10 Asbury Park
Although long renowned for sandy summer escapes with vibrant bar scenes and beachfront culture cultivated by Bruce Springsteen, this iconic Jersey Shore town has recently earned increased infamy for violent assaults and gang activity. While the local police instituted expanded neighborhood patrols that brought a double digit decrease in total cases for 2021, Asbury Park endured at least 60 aggravated assaults paired with nearly a dozen sexual assaults and rapes throughout the year. What was once petty misdemeanor crimes and minor burglaries fundamentally shifted toward unprovoked attacks typically by groups numbering four or more young assailants. For a relatively tiny year-round population still hovering under just 16,000 even with seasonal tourism, such brazen mob-style violence stands out as requiring proactive resolution.
#9 New Brunswick
Sharing similar issues between transitional residential zones abutting college campuses, New Jersey’s eighth most dangerous city contended with 137 violent crimes alongside 690 property offenses during 2021. New Brunswick may boast education leader Rutgers University alongside redevelopment sectors filled with tech startups and medical research firms, but several aging neighborhoods still fall prey to heightened robbery and assault rates relative to East Coast cities of comparable size. Much like Asbury Park, a predominantly younger demographic of offenders repeatedly targeted victims for swarm beatings and gang intimidation occurring most often after dark.
#8 Plainfield
Totaling over 130 violent crimes against residents and 260 property violations during 2021, Plainfield consistently registers Central Jersey’s elevated theft, robbery, and assault rates. Youth gangs continue menacing Union County’s seventh largest city thanks to rampant drug trafficking channels running through several impoverished neighborhoods left behind from the suburb’s manufacturing collapse. While experiencing slight improvement during the late 2010s, violent crime in Plainfield spiked again markedly as the economy reopened from 2020 onwards leaving police again scrambling to contain numerous gun violences and assault outbreaks throughout last year.
#7 Bridgeton
Coupled with fewer redevelopment initiatives and more limited local resources compared to New Jersey’s urban centers, outer rural municipalities often experience disproportionate crime waves relative to their small populations. Just ask South Jersey’s Bridgeton residents who endured 180 violent assaults and 300 property crimes throughout their 25,000 person community in 2021. Representing six times the national average despite their locale far from any major city, these figures frustrate local officials still attempting to revive a stagnant local economy centered around agriculture and food production plants known for grueling working conditions.
#6 Trenton
As the state capital averaging over 80,000 inhabitants, New Jersey’s policymakers in Trenton ironically preside alongside neighborhoods repeatedly listed among America’s the most dangerous regardless of method. After experiencing gradual improvement in extremely high murder rates from the early 2010s, New Jersey’s per capita crime has boomeranged back up to previous benchmarks. Trenton tragically suffered ten homicides per 100,000 people last year supplemented by rates of rape, robbery, and assault all dramatically dwarfing national standards. Lingering unemployment from industrial decline and the ravages of the crack cocaine epidemic continue reverberating into ongoing gun violence made easier by interstate trafficking access.
#5 Paterson
Sharing similar dynamics to Trenton along economic fault lines wrecking spatial inequality between affluent suburbs and dilapidated urban enclaves, Paterson endures nearly double their per capita violent crime rates layered atop America’s single worst city-level burglary problem. Street robberies often at gunpoint frequently erupt along odious drug corridors generating 65 percent more aggravated assaults annually for citizens than even crime-riddled Newark by comparison. Rising bloodshed between Paterson’s entrenched gang presences accompanied alarming spikes in rape and illegal weapons seizures over the last three years as well.
#4 Lindenwold
An unexpected entrant kicked off 2021 with seven homicides marking the most seen throughout the past decade, supplementing its consistent sexual and violent assault rates obliterating national equivalents in all categories. Despite census figures barely cresting 17,360 residents, this suburban Philadelphia Camden County offshoot somehow accounted for over 60 robberies and a staggering 100 aggravated assaults during 2021. Critics argue lingering trauma from the Lacrosse team scandal paired with the two missed Atlantic City line train service cuts left few opportunities and resources for youths over recent generations.
#3 Newark
Familiar to many Americans for violence and dysfunction through negative news headlines since the 1967 riots, New Jersey’s largest city has never managed reducing crime below rates dwarfing all peers. Newark persists as the lone municipality with not only three times the US murder average but also triple rape occurrence and double the concentrations of known violent gang members. However, to its credit major overall crime totals including robbery plateaued then modestly improved across Mayor Baraka’s eight year tenure thanks to ambitious, nationally recognized community development initiatives.
#2 Camden
Formerly crowned America’s most dangerous for murder during short spans of 2012 and 2015, Camden has halved year-over-year homicide figures from 67 just six years ago to more reasonable standards between seven and 15 most recently. Although still facing disproportionate levels of other violent offenses including rape and aggravated assault, dissolving the local dedicated police department coincided with observed decreases in both weapons charges and felony property damage thanks to expanding county-level shared services support. Yet locals warn many neighborhoods remain highly unstable for law abiding families especially after nightfall.
#1 Atlantic City
Despite encompassing world-renowned entertainment epicenters and considerable previous investments combating endemic poverty, Atlantic City conclusively ranks New Jersey’s current most dangerous urban area based on recent crime data. Struggling mightily to diversify its job mix beyond volatile casino industry churn, Atlantic County’s seat averaged an alarming 15 murders paired with 70 rapes and 350 robberies throughout 2021 the equivalent of over 650 violent crimes annually per 100,000 people. Sustained economic uncertainty and social service gaps for vulnerable populations indicate near term resolution remains unlikely barring a coordinated private-public infusion.
In conclusion, while New Jersey is often perceived as a safe and prosperous state, it is important to remember that every state has its share of dangerous cities. The cities listed in this article are just a few of the many places in New Jersey where crime rates are higher than average. If you are planning to visit or move to New Jersey, it is important to do your research and be aware of the potential dangers. By taking precautions and being aware of your surroundings, you can help to stay safe in New Jersey.
