Highland Park is a borough of 15,100 in Middlesex County, about 30 miles southwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Highland Park?
Property crime in Highland Park runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Theft makes up 63% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A, and vehicle theft grades A.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 747 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
39% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Highland Park as a whole, and 61% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Highland Park scores 747.
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 Highland Park, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Highland Park, 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 Highland Park
Thefts from cars happen at homes more often than nationally. In Highland Park, 54% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Highland Park
Every part of Highland Park where people live grades A or B for property crime on the national scale. Property crime grades across Highland Park 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 Highland Park?
Reported property crime in Highland Park has fallen 25% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 16 to 12 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Highland ParkUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Highland Park. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Highland Park
Property, US
2016
-21%
+15%
2017
-17%
+12%
2018
-26%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-39%
-8%
2021
-48%
-10%
2022
-47%
-6%
2023
-17%
-7%
2024
-25%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Highland Park
CrimeGrade™ estimates Highland Park has about 17 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 27% less than the US as a whole and close to 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 Highland Park, about 63% of the total, followed by vandalism 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.
Where and when property crime happens in Highland Park
Highland Park has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Highland Park, 72% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (72%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (54%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Highland Park and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Highland Park, 8 have less property crime. East Brunswick and Piscataway have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Highland Park. 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, Highland Park is safer than 57% of them.
Walkability, night lighting and jobs in Highland Park
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Highland Park apart: it has a Walk Grade of B- (53 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 18 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Very walkable places tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
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.B- (53 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 92% 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
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.18 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 90% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 87% 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.59% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 72% 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 Highland Park
Property crime costs Highland Park about $1.7 million a year, or $110 per resident and about $263 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
$160,000
$11
Theft
$850,000
$56
Vehicle theft
$150,000
$10
Arson
$14,000
$1
Vandalism
$480,000
$32
Total
$1.7 million
$110
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. Highland Park is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
