NJ Leads Nation In Spike Of Holiday Burglaries: Here's Why That Might Be

NEW JERSEY — For thieves, there's no place like a New Jersey home for the holidays. Burglaries rise across several states during the holiday season, but no state saw a greater surge in the crime last December than Jersey, according to a new report analyzing FBI data.

About 1 million burglaries take place in the United States each year, with roughly 83,000 occurring in December, according to Porch, a software company that specializes in home-security systems. On the national level, burglaries peak during the summer months, but New Jersey has a different story.

Compared to the average month, New Jersey burglaries increase 59 percent in December — the sharpest holiday-season spike in the nation, according to Porch. Pennsylvania and Illinois tie for second at 40 percent each, and only 10 states report more holiday break-ins in December.

Porch identified one possible reason: beach houses, which are more likely to have occupants over the summer than during the winter. The Atlantic City-Hammonton metro area sees 120 percent more burglaries in December compared to the average month, the greatest disparity in the nation, according to Porch.

Each holiday burglary in New Jersey averages $2,901 in estimated stolen property. That's seventh in the nation, with California leading the U.S. with $5,929 in property stolen during each December break-in, the report states.

There's one silver living. FBI data shows the rate of burglaries declining in New Jersey (489.4 offenses per 100,000 people in 2011 to 146.2 in 2020) and the U.S., falling from 701.3 to 314.2 burglaries per 100,000 people during that span.

"Holiday burglaries may be more common in some places than in others," Porch's report states, "but it’s worth keeping in mind that overall, burglaries are in decline in the United States and have been for forty years."

View Porch's full report on holiday break-ins.