Most Dangerous Cities in New Jersey (2024)
The 25 most dangerous cities in New Jersey ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents, based on 2024 FBI data.New Jersey has 488 cities reporting crime data.
Key Insights
- →Atlantic City has the highest violent crime rate in New Jersey at 1780.1 per 100K — 5.0x the national average.
- →22 of the top 25 most dangerous cities in New Jersey exceed the national average violent crime rate of 359.1/100K.
- →The top 3 — Atlantic City, Camden County Police Department, Asbury Park — account for a combined 1,854 violent crimes.
- →New Jersey's statewide violent crime rate is 217.7/100K, 39% below the national average.
1780.1
Highest Rate
217.7
State Average
359.1
National Average
22
Above National Avg
Top 25 Most Dangerous Cities in New Jersey
Ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents. Only cities with 10,000+ residents are included to avoid statistical distortion from tiny populations.
| # | City | Population | Violent Rate | Murder Rate | Property Rate | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlantic City | 38,480 | 1780.1 | 18.2 | 6237.0 | F |
| 2 | Camden County Police Department | 72,435 | 1380.5 | 26.2 | 3040.0 | F |
| 3 | Asbury Park | 15,136 | 1116.5 | 19.8 | 4215.1 | F |
| 4 | Trenton | 91,236 | 1025.9 | 21.9 | 2288.6 | F |
| 5 | Paterson | 158,903 | 978.6 | 6.3 | 2351.1 | F |
| 6 | Bridgeton | 26,634 | 919.9 | 22.5 | 3506.8 | F |
| 7 | Passaic | 69,938 | 719.2 | 1.4 | 1837.3 | F |
| 8 | New Brunswick | 57,259 | 698.6 | 15.7 | 2626.7 | F |
| 9 | Newark | 309,708 | 581.2 | 12.6 | 1957.3 | F |
| 10 | Jersey City | 297,922 | 561.6 | 2.4 | 2029.1 | F |
| 11 | East Orange | 71,138 | 486.4 | 7.0 | 1952.5 | F |
| 12 | Orange City | 34,349 | 454.2 | 5.8 | 1749.7 | F |
| 13 | Millville | 27,340 | 453.5 | 14.6 | 3906.4 | F |
| 14 | Irvington | 60,900 | 443.3 | 8.2 | 2581.3 | F |
| 15 | Vineland | 60,848 | 437.2 | 3.3 | 2685.4 | F |
| 16 | Linden | 43,412 | 430.8 | 6.9 | 3595.8 | F |
| 17 | Plainfield | 55,975 | 410.9 | 0.0 | 1609.6 | F |
| 18 | Elizabeth | 138,500 | 408.7 | 3.6 | 2657.8 | F |
| 19 | Pleasantville | 20,619 | 402.5 | 4.8 | 1474.4 | F |
| 20 | Lindenwold | 22,184 | 401.2 | 4.5 | 2114.1 | F |
| 21 | Perth Amboy | 56,409 | 391.8 | 5.3 | 1368.6 | F |
| 22 | Burlington City | 10,125 | 375.3 | 0.0 | 2666.7 | F |
| 23 | Maple Shade Township | 20,132 | 352.7 | 0.0 | 2185.6 | D |
| 24 | Willingboro Township | 32,211 | 347.7 | 9.3 | 1297.7 | D |
| 25 | Somers Point | 10,468 | 324.8 | 0.0 | 2225.8 | D |
Understanding the Data
Violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault as defined by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Rates are per 100,000 residents and based on the latest 2024 data.
Why population matters: Cities under 10,000 are excluded from this ranking because a single incident can produce an extremely high per-capita rate. A city of 500 with one murder has a "murder rate" of 200/100K — statistically meaningless.
Not all crime is reported. FBI data only captures crimes reported to police. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates only ~40% of violent crimes are reported. See our hidden crime estimates →