North Plainfield, NJ Property Crime Rates and Maps

North Plainfield is a borough of 21,700 in Somerset County, about 25 miles west of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026

How common is property crime in North Plainfield?

Property crime is high in North Plainfield: a B, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live. Theft makes up 69% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades B.

B
Property crime CrimeGrade™Safety score 638 of 1,000
More property crime than most US neighborhoods What this means

29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than North Plainfield as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Plainfield scores 638.

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.

B+
Overall crimeSafety score 746 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoods
A-
Violent crimeSafety score 809 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoods

How it works


Property crime map of North Plainfield

Map of North Plainfield shaded by property crime CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

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 North Plainfield, NJ at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Plainfield, 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 North Plainfield

Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In North Plainfield, 43% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.

Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run low. In North Plainfield, each runs at about half the US rate: 1.4 car thefts and 2.7 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.


Where property crime is lowest and highest in North Plainfield

Low property crime is the norm across North Plainfield: 61% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 6% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across North Plainfield run from B+ to D.

A or B 61%C 33%D or F 6%

Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.


Is property crime going up in North Plainfield?

Reported property crime in North Plainfield has risen 11% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 13 to 15 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 15%.

Property crime, change since 2019

North PlainfieldUnited States

Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves North Plainfield. The charts follow crimes per resident.

Data table
YearProperty, North PlainfieldProperty, US
2016+35%+15%
2017+79%+12%
2018+20%+4%
2019+0%+0%
2020+1%-8%
2021-7%-10%
2022+5%-6%
2023+31%-7%
2024+11%-15%

Property crime rates and types in North Plainfield

CrimeGrade™ estimates North Plainfield has about 18 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 26% 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 North Plainfield, about 69% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
BurglaryA-281.32.4
TheftC26612.313.1
Vehicle theftB291.42.7
ArsonA+under 10.020.12
VandalismA-592.75.5

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 North Plainfield

North Plainfield has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.

In North Plainfield, 70% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 48% of them, against 23% nationally.

CrimeMost often atBusiest time
BurglaryHomes (70%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theftParking lots and garages (48%)Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from carsStreets and sidewalks (43%)Morning (6 am to noon)
VandalismHomes (32%)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 North Plainfield and nearby cities

North Plainfield has more property crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities. Warren and Gillette have the least property crime nearby.

Nearby cities

PlacePropertyOverallResidents
North PlainfieldB638B+21,700
Plainfield 1 mileB-578B55,100
Watchung 1 mileA-842A8,480
Dunellen 3 milesA874A15,800
Fanwood 3 milesA851A7,830
Show all 10
PlacePropertyOverallResidents
South Plainfield 3 milesA854A24,600
Scotch Plains 3 milesA903A+24,300
Berkeley Heights 4 milesA+931A+13,600
Warren 4 milesA+964A+14,800
Gillette 4 milesA+959A+3,430
Middlesex 5 milesA921A+15,700

Nearest first, with each place's distance from North Plainfield. 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, North Plainfield has more property crime than 53% of them.

Cities of similar size and density

PlacePropertyOverallResidents
North PlainfieldB638B+21,700
Lynbrook, NYA868A22,000
Mineola, NYA855A21,200
Mamaroneck, NYA-840A21,200
Greenfield, CAA-791B+21,300
Show all 10
PlacePropertyOverallResidents
Secaucus, NJA-787A21,800
Elmwood Park, NJB646B+21,700
Albany, CAC413B+21,900
Blue Island, ILC-363C21,500
Cudahy, CAD-88D22,100
West Carson, CAF0C-21,500

Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in North Plainfield

Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set North Plainfield apart: it has 0.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 0.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.

Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.0.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 96% 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.C+ (42 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.14 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 93% 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
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.51% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 84% of US city residents

BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of North Plainfield on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.

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 North Plainfield

Property crime costs North Plainfield about $2.5 million a year, or $115 per resident and about $367 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.

CrimeCost a yearPer resident
Burglary$250,000$12
Theft$1.4 million$63
Vehicle theft$450,000$21
Arson$8,800under $1
Vandalism$420,000$19
Total$2.5 million$115

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. North Plainfield 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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data