New Brunswick is a city of 58,500 in Middlesex County, about 30 miles southwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in New Brunswick?
New Brunswick earns a B for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 70% of Americans live. Theft makes up 70% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B-, and vehicle theft grades B+.
B
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 657 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
30% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than New Brunswick as a whole, and 70% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. New Brunswick scores 657.
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 New Brunswick, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in New Brunswick, 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 New Brunswick
Car thefts are less common than the crime level suggests. Property crime in New Brunswick runs 30% above the US rate, but car thefts run 34% below it: 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In New Brunswick, 52% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in New Brunswick
Property crime varies widely across New Brunswick: 45% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 34% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across New Brunswick run from A- to F.
45%21%34%
A or B 45%C 21%D or F 34%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in New Brunswick?
Reported property crime in New Brunswick has risen 31% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 20 to 26 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 11%.
Property crime, change since 2019
New BrunswickUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves New Brunswick. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, New Brunswick
Property, US
2016
+12%
+15%
2017
+20%
+12%
2018
+8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-13%
-8%
2021
-4%
-10%
2022
+8%
-6%
2023
+48%
-7%
2024
+31%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in New Brunswick
CrimeGrade™ estimates New Brunswick has about 31 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 30% more than the US as a whole and 67% more 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 New Brunswick, about 70% 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 New Brunswick
New Brunswick has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In New Brunswick, 70% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 56% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (70%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (52%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (34%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in New Brunswick and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to New Brunswick, 9 have less property crime. East Brunswick and Piscataway have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from New Brunswick. 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, New Brunswick is safer than 63% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set New Brunswick apart: it has a Walk Grade of B+ (69 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 92 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that 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. 67% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (69 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 96% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.92 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 95% 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.81% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Show all 6
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
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 73% 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 New Brunswick: C- (26 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 68% 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 New Brunswick
Property crime costs New Brunswick about $12 million a year, or $198 per resident and about $739 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
$1.5 million
$26
Theft
$6.5 million
$111
Vehicle theft
$1.6 million
$27
Arson
$130,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.8 million
$31
Total
$12 million
$198
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.
