Do you live in one of the murder capitals of New Jersey?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in New Jersey.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Garden State for 2023:
- Trenton
- Newark
- Camden County Police Department
- Paterson
- Irvington
- Atlantic City
- Hillside Township
- Plainfield
- Linden
- Glassboro
What city has the highest murder rate in New Jersey? The city with the highest murder rate in New Jersey is Trenton with 48.2 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in New Jersey with highest number of murders? The city in New Jersey with the highest number of murders is Newark with 60 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in New Jersey ranked. There were ‘only’ 72 cities in New Jersey where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 282 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Garden State check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Jersey
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of New Jersey For 2023
/10
Population: 82,909
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 40 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 48.2 (Most)
More on Trenton: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 295,039
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 60 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.3 (5th Most)
More on Newark: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
3. Camden County Police Department
Population: 73,127
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 23 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 31.5 (2nd Most)
More on Camden County Police Department:
/10
Population: 144,947
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 27 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.6 (7th Most)
More on Paterson: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
5. Irvington
Population: 54,306
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 11 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.3 (6th Most)
More on Irvington:
/10
Population: 37,550
Rank Last Year: 6
Murders: 9 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.0 (4th Most)
More on Atlantic City: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
7. Hillside Township
Population: 22,799
Rank Last Year: 49
Murders: 6 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 26.3 (3rd Most)
More on Hillside Township:
/10
Population: 50,333
Rank Last Year: 8
Murders: 7 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.9 (9th Most)
More on Plainfield: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 42,515
Rank Last Year: 9
Murders: 5 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.8 (12th Most)
More on Linden: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 20,461
Rank Last Year: 10
Murders: 3 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.7 (8th Most)
More on Glassboro: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of New Jersey
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in New Jersey for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 72 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in New Jersey and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In New Jersey For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in New Jersey with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In New Jersey
- Fastest Growing Cities In New Jersey
- Safest Places In New Jersey
- Best Cities For Singles In New Jersey
- Worst Places To Live In New Jersey
Detailed List Of The Places With The Most Murder In New Jersey For 2023
| Rank | City | Murders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trenton, NJ | 40 |
| 2 | Newark, NJ | 60 |
| 3 | Camden County Police Department, NJ | 23 |
| 4 | Paterson, NJ | 27 |
| 5 | Irvington, NJ | 11 |
| 6 | Atlantic City, NJ | 9 |
| 7 | Hillside Township, NJ | 6 |
| 8 | Plainfield, NJ | 7 |
| 9 | Linden, NJ | 5 |
| 10 | Glassboro, NJ | 3 |
| 11 | Elizabeth, NJ | 10 |
| 12 | East Orange, NJ | 6 |
| 13 | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | 4 |
| 14 | Orange City, NJ | 3 |
| 15 | Jersey City, NJ | 17 |
| 16 | Hamilton Township, Mercer County, NJ | 6 |
| 17 | Pleasantville, NJ | 2 |
| 18 | New Brunswick, NJ | 4 |
| 19 | Bridgeton, NJ | 2 |
| 20 | Passaic, NJ | 4 |
| 21 | Pemberton Township, NJ | 2 |
| 22 | Millville, NJ | 2 |
| 23 | Vineland, NJ | 3 |
| 24 | Willingboro Township, NJ | 2 |
| 25 | Byram Township, NJ | 1 |
| 26 | Runnemede, NJ | 1 |
| 27 | Brigantine, NJ | 1 |
| 28 | Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ | 3 |
| 29 | Edgewater Park Township, NJ | 1 |
| 30 | Cresskill, NJ | 1 |
| 31 | Clayton, NJ | 1 |
| 32 | Woodbury, NJ | 1 |
| 33 | Mount Laurel Township, NJ | 2 |
| 34 | Burlington City, NJ | 1 |
| 35 | Hillsborough Township, NJ | 2 |
| 36 | Somers Point, NJ | 1 |
| 37 | Pine Hill, NJ | 1 |
| 38 | Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, NJ | 2 |
| 39 | East Hanover Township, NJ | 1 |
| 40 | Hopatcong, NJ | 1 |
| 41 | Haddon Township, NJ | 1 |
| 42 | Asbury Park, NJ | 1 |
| 43 | Toms River Township, NJ | 2 |
| 44 | Lindenwold, NJ | 1 |
| 45 | Dover, NJ | 1 |
| 46 | Lakewood Township, NJ | 2 |
| 47 | Rutherford, NJ | 1 |
| 48 | Maple Shade Township, NJ | 1 |
| 49 | Morristown, NJ | 1 |
| 50 | Elmwood Park, NJ | 1 |
| 51 | Burlington Township, NJ | 1 |
| 52 | Carteret, NJ | 1 |
| 53 | Lodi, NJ | 1 |
| 54 | Lacey Township, NJ | 1 |
| 55 | Deptford Township, NJ | 1 |
| 56 | Rahway, NJ | 1 |
| 57 | Pennsauken Township, NJ | 1 |
| 58 | Ewing Township, NJ | 1 |
| 59 | North Brunswick Township, NJ | 1 |
| 60 | Berkeley Township, NJ | 1 |
| 61 | Manchester Township, NJ | 1 |
| 62 | Bridgewater Township, NJ | 1 |
| 63 | West Orange, NJ | 1 |
| 64 | Bloomfield, NJ | 1 |
| 65 | East Brunswick Township, NJ | 1 |
| 66 | Perth Amboy, NJ | 1 |
| 67 | Piscataway Township, NJ | 1 |
| 68 | Jackson Township, NJ | 1 |
| 69 | Bayonne, NJ | 1 |
| 70 | Brick Township, NJ | 1 |
| 71 | Edison Township, NJ | 1 |
| 72 | Woodbridge Township, NJ | 1 |
How did you miss Jersey City?
20 murders in 2017, 15 in 2018.