Brookdale is an unincorporated community of 10,300 in Essex County, about 11 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Brookdale?
Brookdale earns an A- for property crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 52% of Americans live. Theft makes up 78% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A, and vehicle theft grades A-.
A-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 835 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Brookdale as a whole, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Brookdale scores 835.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Brookdale, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Brookdale, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Brookdale
Crime per resident runs lower than the grade suggests. Few people work in, shop in or visit Brookdale compared with the number who live there, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ weighs each crime against the people, homes and parked cars actually here.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Brookdale
Every part of Brookdale where people live grades A or B for property crime on the national scale. Property crime grades across Brookdale run from A to B+.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Brookdale?
Reported property crime in Brookdale has risen 29% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 11 to 15 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
BrookdaleUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Brookdale. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Brookdale
Property, US
2016
+48%
+15%
2017
+38%
+12%
2018
+14%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-11%
-8%
2021
-15%
-10%
2022
+6%
-6%
2023
+32%
-7%
2024
+29%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Brookdale
CrimeGrade™ estimates Brookdale has about 11 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 56% less than the US as a whole and 43% less than New Jersey.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Brookdale, about 78% of the total, followed by vehicle theft and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Property crime in Brookdale and nearby cities
Brookdale has less property crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Brookdale. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Brookdale has more property crime than 59% of them.
Parking lots, night lighting and walkability in Brookdale
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Brookdale apart: it has 0.4 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 2.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 94% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 59% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (29 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 79% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 89% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Brookdale: C- (26 of 100).8 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 81% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.39% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 75% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Brookdale
Property crime costs Brookdale about $710,000 a year, or $69 per resident and about $192 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$70,000
$7
Theft
$440,000
$42
Vehicle theft
$170,000
$16
Arson
$2,000
under $1
Vandalism
$32,000
$3
Total
$710,000
$69
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
