Livingston Is One Of 30 Safest Towns In America, Study Finds

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Livingston was ranked 27th among the "Safest Small Cities & Towns in America," according to a recent study conducted by MoneyGeek, a personal finance technology company.

Only small cities and towns with a population between 30,000 and 100,000 residents were reviewed for the study.

These towns were ahead of Livingston on the list:

• 6. Monroe Township
• 13. Middletown Township
• 16. Princeton
• 19. Marlboro Township
• 20. Fair Lawn
• 21. Old Bridge Township

MoneyGeek used standardized crime statistics reported to the FBI. To determine crime rates per 100,000, the company added population data accessed from the FBI.

However, just a note: The FBI has cautioned against using rankings to determine the overall safety of an area. Websites use different methodologies, and various factors influence the nature and type of crimes.

"Data users should not rank locales because there are many factors that cause the nature and type of crime to vary from place to place," says the FBI. "UCR [Uniform Crime Report] statistics include only jurisdictional population figures along with reported crime, clearance, or arrest data. Rankings ignore the uniqueness of each locale."

For Livingston, the site says that the average per capita cost of crime in town is $86, one of the lowest in the country. Overall:

• The cost of crime in Livingston is $2.62 million
• Violent Crime Rate: 29.6 per 100,000
• Property Crime Rate: 806.7 per 100,000

Overall, the cost of crime for small cities increased by 12 percent from 2019 to 2020, which is the latest data available, according to MoneyGeek. The average U.S. city saw a 15 percent increase in the cost of crime during the same period.

Small cities and towns were found to be twice as safe as big cities.

To check out the entire ranking and read about the methodology, click here and go down to the list that says "Full Data Set."

You can put Livingston or New Jersey into the search bar to find Livingston's information, and the top-ranked New Jersey towns.

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