Safewise did a survey to find out the 50 safest cities in New Jersey and while they found that worries about safety in the Garden State increased over the past year, there is an abundance of safe places to live.
In its seventh annual State of Safety survey, Safewise found that 58 percent of NJ residents expressed high levels of concern for their safety, a big jump from 2020 when just 44 percent of respondents had similar concerns. As a comparison, only 47 percent of Americans reported similar levels of concern about their safety.
“Survey participants in New Jersey reported having twice as many personal experiences with violent crime this year compared to last year—experience with gun violence nearly doubled as well,” reports Safewise.
The top 15 safest towns from the survey are:
1. River Vale Township
2. Sparta Township
3. Chatham Township
4. Kinnelon
5. New Providence
6. Warren Township
7. Clinton Township
8. Bernards Township
9. Monroe Township, Middlesex County
10. Wanaque
11. Robbinsville Township
12. Verona
13. Raritan Township
14. Dumont
15. New Milford
Some good news: All of New Jersey’s 50 safest cities reported crime rates well below the state and national average. “The Garden State is close to the national average and even saw some improvements like fewer experiences with property crime and a lower property crime rate,” report the study authors.
In the Mid-Atlantic region, New Jersey came out above the regional average and had the lowest violent crime rate ahead of Pennsylvania (3.1). We also had the lowest property crime rate ahead of New York (13.7).
In more good news, New Jersey’s crime rates are lower than the national average. Among all 50 states, New Jersey had the fifth-lowest rate for both violent crime and property crime.
It’s also possible that the increased anxiety during the COVID pandemic contributed to the survey responses.
How did your town rank in Safewise’s survey? Check out the full list here.