The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey For 2022

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In New Jersey For 2022

Located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City metro area, Asbury Park raks as New Jersey's most dangerous place.

The overall crime rate in Asbury Park is more than three times as high as the statewide average and it's telling that most of that comes from violent crime.

Residents had a 1 in 81 chance of being attacked, killed, or raped in 2020, so don't let your guard down at the the boardwalk.

Millville is nowhere near as violent as Camden, but with a property crime rate that ranks as the fifth highest in the state, the smaller city actually has a higher total crime rate.

Make sure you've still got all your valuables spending time at one of Millville's parks and make sure you keep your doors locked, or you'll join the 1 in 29 residents who had their property stolen or damaged in 2020.

Located an hour south of Philadelphia, Bridgeton takes the third place position on our list of New Jersey's most dangerous places.

While there might be bears and tigers at Bridgeton's local zoo, but the real scary stuff is going down on Bridgeton's streets, where violent crimes are the fifth most common statewide.

It's also probably a good idea to lock all your doors and Bridgeton because the city had the highest burglary rate in New Jersey for 2020.

A resort city known for its casinos, beaches, and boardwalk, as well as inspiring the board of Monopoly, Atlantic City is also New Jersey's fourth most dangerous city.

If you watched Boardwalk Empire, you know that the Atlantic City we know today was founded on crime, and today it still has the tenth highest overall crime rate in New Jersey.

People in Atlantic City had a 1 in 37 of being the victim of a property crime in 2020. And it isn't all stolen poker winnings, either; the city also had the third highest murder rate in New Jersey.

The name "Woodbury" will fool you on two fronts at once. First, the "wood" part. This isn't a tiny hamlet tucked into a forest enclave. Rather, it's actually part of the greater Philadelphia metro area, located about 20 minutes from the center of the big city.

Meanwhile, the "bury" part is a little deceiving as well. Yes, this is the number 5 most dangerous place in New Jersey. But violence really isn't its biggest problem -- if you end up buried in Woodbury, it's likely because of natural causes. Instead, you should be more afraid of property crime around here. The town of 9,744 people suffers the number 7 highest pace of burglaries in the state.

Located a half-hour drive southeast of Camden, Lindenwold comes in as New Jersey's sixth most dangerous city for 2022. Lindenwold had the seventh highest rate of rape cases of anywhere in New Jersey and residents had a 1 in 157 of being attacked in some way over the year.

What's more, you can't even trust people not to break into your home in Lindenwold, which had the third highest burglary rate statewide. It's getting easier and easier to see why Lindenwold is also one of the worst places in New Jersey.

Known as "The Crossroads of the Jersey Shore," Neptune Township does not rep the region well, in terms of crime. On the bright side, Neptune Township does have the lowest violent crime rate on this list.

But with residents facing a 1 in 30 chance of being the victim of a property crime, it's fair to say Neptune Township still has some work to do. We just hope nobody steals an antique pinball machine in the meantime.

Let's be frank -- Camden has a national reputation for violent crime and the numbers back up the stereotype in this case. Camden had the most violent crime of anywhere in New Jersey for 2020 and the second highest murder rate.

To balance out this narrative a little, we should mention that Camden had 67 murders in 2012 and only 23 in 2020, so things are improving here.

Other types of crime are down in recent years as well and many look to Camden as a model for model for police reform.

To quote the Camden County Police Department Chief of Police, "I would qualify the statistics as progress and not success."

New Jersey's 4th most populous city, Elizabeth, also has the ninth highest crime rate in the state for 2022.

Violent crime is especially bad in Elizabeth, but the majority of the 774 crimes committed in 2020 were robberies or assaults.

Elizabeth has been inching its way up this list for the past couple of years while its northern neighbor Newark has been slowly achieving better and better crime numbers.

Absecon gets its name from a local tribe of Native Americans. Its located along the coast, in the southern part of New Jersey, potentially a scenic place to spend a summer day, with the town situated just a short 15-minute drive from the middle of Atlantic City.

Unfortunately, the resort atmosphere is shattered by a high crime rate. Violence remains relatively subdued in the community. But property crime poses a major threat. Absecon presents the number 5 rate of burglaries and the number 3 pace of larcenies in the state.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In New Jersey FAQs

Is New Jersey a dangerous state?

No, New Jersey is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #4 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in new jersey ranks 46th highest in the United States -- 49.62% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Garden State ranks 46th highest in the United States -- 40.85% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Is Newark, NJ a dangerous city?

No, Newark is not a dangerous city. Newark ranks as the #88 safest out of 320 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Newark might be considered safe you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, South Ironbound is the safest in Newark, while Springfield-Belmont is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Newark ranks 13highest in America -- 3.69% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 255th highest in the United States -- 39.07% better than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020 and that no city in America is 'dangerous'. Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.