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The 20 Safest Places to Live in New Jersey

If you want to live in one of North America’s safest states, head to New Jersey. You might still need to lock your doors at night and keep one eye on your wallet at all times, but in terms of personal safety, it’s not doing too badly at all in the crime stakes. According to Safe Wise, only 6% of New Jersey residents reported a personal experience with violent crime in the past 12 months (compared to 12% nationally), while 15% said they’d experienced property crime (compared to 26% nationally). Whichever way you look at it, those are some pretty convincing stats. But which cities, towns, and villages rank the safest? Where can you sleep soundly knowing you won’t wake up to find your car’s been robbed and your house has been ransacked? Quite a few places, in fact. Without further ado, here are the 20 safest places to live in New Jersey.

20. Glen Rock

Glen Rock is safe. Super, super safe. While we wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to make any claims about what its 11937 residents get up to in their spare time, we can safely say that none of them are indulging in anything of the murderous or assaulting kind. Violent crime just doesn’t happen here – in the last year, there’ve been absolutely no reports of murders, rapes, or assaults. Property crime does happen occasionally, but when we say occasionally, we really do mean occasionally. Live here, and your chances of falling victim to crime are just 4.10 in 100,000.

19. Monroe Township

It’s unusual for a large town to have a small crime rate, but Monroe Township is bucking the trend. With 45597 residents, it’s got a healthy enough population. Surprisingly, though, almost none of those residents have a criminal bend… at least according to the statistics. Whatever it is that Monroe Township locals like to get up to in their downtime, it’s clearly not crime: in the past year, there’ve been just 5 violent crimes and 79 property crimes, pushing the overall chances of anyone becoming the victim of a crime to a tiny 3.57 in 100,000.

18. Chatham Township

According to Safe Wise, 41% of New Jersey residents are most concerned about being physically assaulted; 31%, meanwhile, believe they’re most likely to be physically assaulted. If this is a possibility that weighs heavy on your mind, you might want to consider making Chatham Township your next home. In the past year, there’ve been 0 physical assaults reported… in fact, 0 violent crimes of any kind. It’s not looking bad on a property crime side of things either, with just 33 reports of theft or motor vehicle theft in 2019.

17. Hasbrouk Heights

Hasbrouck Heights is a suburb of New York City with a population of 12,091. Hasbrouck Heights is in Bergen County and is one of the best places to live in New Jersey. Living in Hasbrouck Heights offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Hasbrouck Heights there are a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Many young professionals live in Hasbrouck Heights and residents tend to be liberal. The public schools in Hasbrouck Heights are highly rated.

16. Dumont

If you toss and turn each night worrying about crime, why not put your worries to bed and head to Dumont? This mid-sized borough in Bergen County, New Jersey offers a fantastic standard of living, with more than enough job opportunities on its doorstep to keep residents in $96,017 median incomes. The education system is second to none, the community is close-knit, and there’s no shortage of amenities and recreational pursuits. In fact, the only thing it’s lacking is crime. In the past year, there’ve been just 5 incidents involving violent crime and 49 incidents involving property crimes. If that’s not enough to give you sweet dreams, we don’t know what is.

15. Upper Saddle River

If safety is one of your primary concerns when it comes to choosing where to live, you might want to cast your eyes in the direction of Upper Saddle River. Crime in this little corner of New Jersey is a hefty 88% lower than it is in your average US community, while the violent crime rate currently sits at a very reassuring zero. Property crime is a little higher, but with only 15 thefts, 9 vehicle thefts, and 1 burglary in the past year, we think we’ll let it pass.

14. Mount Olive Township

28994 people call Mount Olive Township home. Lucky them, we say. In the past year, there have been just 6 reported incidents of violent crime and 77 reports of property crime. Put the two together, and that means that your average Mount Olive Township resident has just a 2.66 chance in 100,000 of becoming a victim of crime.

13. Bergenfield

Bergenfield is by no means small. 27684 people call it home, which is just about enough to push it out of the category of bucolic little backwater and into the realm of ‘mid-sized town’. But unlike most places where a spike in population corresponds to a spike in crime, this little borough of Bergen County is keeping any kind of criminal activity firmly under control. Little wonder then, why it's such a serial addition to rankings of the "Best Places To Live in New Jersey”.

12. Kinnelon

Kinnelon has 10080 residents. Not that many, but enough to make you think there’d be some sort of crime rate to speak about. But newsflash: there isn’t. Not so far as violent crime goes, in any rate. In the past year, there’s been exactly one report of a violent crime. 1 crime in a population of over 10k is, by anyone’s reckoning, fair going. As far as property crime goes, it’s the same story, with just 25 crimes in total reported in 2019.

11. Tewksbury

Tewksbury has culture, history, and charm by the bucketload. It also has one of the lowest crime rates in New Jersey. The property crime is a relatively minuscule 206 per 100,000 residents, while the violent crime rate is a big fat 0. Can’t ask for better than that.

10. New Providence

Niche gives the little town of New Providence an A for crime. So do we. Last year, there were zero reports of violent crimes, meaning zero assaults, zero murders, zero rapes, and zero robberies. Granted, property crime was a little higher, but considering there were only 52 burglaries per 100k residents (compared to a national average of 500.1), 300 thefts per 100k residents (compared to a national average of 2,042.8), and 37.6 motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents (compared to a national average of 284), we think we’ll forgive it.

9. Mountain Lakes

Nestled as it is between the hills of the New Jersey's Piedmont region and the rocky outcroppings of the Highlands, Mountain Lakes occupies one of the most scenic stretches of land in New Jersey. Clearly, the abundance of healthy outdoor pursuits is having a good effect on its residents. In the past year, there’ve been zero violent crimes and only the tiniest handful of property crimes… because after all, why waste your time stealinf a car when you could just hike to your destination instead?

8. Chesterfield

There are a lot of perks to living in Chesterfield, NJ. Friendly, peaceful, and located just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the big city attractions of Trenton, Philadelphia, and New York City, it offers small-town charm without the isolation. It also offers some of the lowest crime stats in New Jersey. Live here, and your chances of having your car stolen, your house robbed, or your person assaulted are next to none.

7. Norwood

Just 15 minutes drive away from Montvale (more on which coming up very shortly) is the little community of Norwood. With the average property selling for a little over $600,000, this is clearly no place for the down-at-heel… as attested by the $127,386 median income. It’s also no place for the criminally minded. Whatever tactics the law enforcement agencies are using here, they’re obviously working: property crime reports come in no more than around once per month, while there’s been nether sight nor sound of a violent crime for over a year.

6. Montvale

Montvale is a charming little community in Bergen County, New Jersey with a small population of 7,844 and an even smaller crime rate. Last year, there were no reports of violent crime at all. A few thefts (20, to put an exact number on it) went down, but that aside, there’s clearly little reason for Montvale’s residents to fret about their safety.

5. North Caldwell

6,183 people live in the little borough of North Caldwell, and for the vast majority of them, crime is something that happens to other people… other people in a different town, in a different state. According to Area Vibes, the total crime rate in North Caldwell is a massive 92% lower than the national average. Better yet for those more concerned with being killed than having their cellphone stolen, the violent crime rate currently sits at 0, meaning there’ve been absolutely no reports of murder, rape, robbery, or assault in the past year. In fact, the only crimes that have been reported include 2 vehicle thefts and 12 thefts.

4. Matawan

Head over to Monmouth county and you’ll find the little community of Matawan. If you’re into low-cost living, friendly vibes, and almost zero crime, you might want to turn your trip into something a little more permanent. According to homesnacks.net, this tiny little corner of New Jersey is one of the safest places in the state, at least as far as violent crime goes. Last year, there were no reports of murders, assaults, rapes, or aggravated burglaries at all. Property crime is a little higher, but with only 112 crimes per 100,000 residents, it’s not exactly too much of a worry.

3. Tenafly

Take a look at the safe city rankings over at alarms.org, and you’ll notice that Tenafly ranks highly. Why? Simple: in the last year, it’s reported no more than 4 violent crimes and a total of 37 property crimes. Considering its reasonably high population of 14742, we’d say that’s more than decent going.

2. New Hanover

New Hanover is a small township in Burlington County, New Jersey with a small population of around 7,678. Thanks to the excellent job prospects in the area, most residents are sitting pretty on a median income of $85,658. With that much disposable income to spend at the shops, they’re clearly too busy to find time for any criminal extracurricular activities – according to the latest reports, there’s been 0 violent crime rate reported in the last year (and no, that’s not a misprint), while the number of property crimes reported sits at a slightly higher (but still very respectable) number of 26. So while you might still need to lock your car at night, you’re safe to walk the streets without a care in the world… a fair compromise, we think you’d agree.

1. River Vale Township

If you want to sleep soundly in your bed at night, there’s a little place in New Jersey that’s calling your name. River Vale Township is a small suburb of New York City with a population of 9,976, a great education system, a bounty of things to do and see, and a crime rate that’s almost too low to warrant a mention. In the past year, there’s been just one report of a violent crime. That’s one report in total over an entire year… pretty staggering, no? Property crime is slightly higher, but with only 24 incidents in the past year, it still ranks considerably lower than anywhere else in the state.

Dana Hanson

Written by Dana Hanson

Dana has extensive professional writing experience including technical and report writing, informational articles, persuasive articles, contrast and comparison, grant applications, and advertisement. She also enjoys creative writing, content writing on nearly any topic (particularly business and lifestyle), because as a lifelong learner, she loves to do research and possess a high skill level in this area. Her academic degrees include AA social Sci/BA English/MEd Adult Ed & Community & Human Resource Development and ABD in PhD studies in Indust & Org Psychology.

Read more posts by Dana Hanson

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