See NJ's Safest Cities, Towns In 2022: Report

NEW JERSEY — With crime spiking in some areas of the country, New Jersey residents may be interested to learn just how safe their community is.

Safewise, an online safety consulting website, recently released its eighth annual “New Jersey's 50 Safest Cities” report.

They compared 244 communities that were at or above the state median population for cities.

Using the most recent FBI crime report statistics, Safewise analyzed the number of reported violent crimes and reported property crimes in each one, and calculated the rate of crimes per 1,000 residents.

Both violent and property crime numbers were weighted equally, meaning that a city with no violent crime could end up lower on the list than a city with higher violent crime if its property crime rate was sufficiently high.

The rankings also factors in data points like median income, high school graduation rates, redlining practices, household access to high-speed internet, city budget allocations, and unemployment rates.

Despite a small decrease in violent crimes reported to New Jersey law enforcement, respondents said they personally experienced more violent crime compared to last year.

People in New Jersey were also more likely than average to say the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their personal safety.

• 52 percent of people in New Jersey reported feeling safe in their state compared to 55 percent of Americans.
• Twice as many people in New Jersey (12 percent) reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey—up from 6 percent the previous year.
• Robbery is the most-reported violent crime, making up 25 percent of all violent crime in The Garden State (US 19 percent).
• 35 percent of survey participants report using some form of personal protection—slightly higher than the US average (34 percent). Pepper spray is the most common form of personal protection used. Keychain weapons are the second most popular type of self-defense device, which is unusual compared to other states.
• 55 percent of New Jerseyites say their personal safety has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 44 percent of Americans—only 3 states reported higher numbers.
• 67 percent of New Jersey residents named gun violence as a top safety concern—well above the US average of 53 percent.
• 9 percent of survey participants reported experiencing gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey, a near-doubling from 5 percent last year.
• There was a 17 percent increase in mass shooting incidents year over year. New Jersey recorded 14 incidents in 2021, compared to 12 the year before.

See here to learn more about the methodology of the report, and here for the full rankings. See here to check out other states.

Here are the 10 Safest Cities in New Jersey for 2022:

1. Sparta Township
2. Ringwood
3. Hasbrouck Heights
4. River Vale Township
5. Berkeley Heights Township
6. Monroe Township, Middlesex County
7. Wanaque
8. Bernards Township
9. Jefferson Township
10. Robbinsville Township

See where your city made the list.