Wayne Among Nation's Safest 'Small Cities And Towns,' Report Says

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne is among the nation's safest "small cities and towns," according to a report from MoneyGeek. The township placed 102nd on the list, which focuses on municipalities with populations between 30,000 and 100,000.

To rank the safest small cities and towns in the United States, MoneyGeek started with standardized crime statistics reported to the FBI. To determine crime rates per 100,000 people, MoneyGeek used the FBI's population data.

But before going further, here's something to consider: the FBI has a longstanding policy against using its crime data to rank locales.

"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," the FBI says. "UCR (uniform crime reporting) statistics include only jurisdictional population figures along with reported crime, clearance, or arrest data. Rankings ignore the uniqueness of each locale."

Nonetheless, Wayne ranks high nationally. The highest-ranking New Jersey cities and towns were Monroe Township (sixth), Middletown (13th), Princeton (16th), Marlboro (19th), Fair Lawn (20th) and Old Bridge (21st). New Jersey's lowest-ranking city was Trenton, placing 946th out of 952.

See the full report here.

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