The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Cape May, NJ: Crime Maps and Statistics

B+

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	C
Property Crime Grade	C+
Other Crime Grade	A+

Which crimes are included?

$2.85 million

Cost of Crime™ for Cape May, NJ

In 2025, crime will cost $508 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Cape May with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Cape May, NJ Safe?

The B+ overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Cape May's combined rate is lower than the norm. Cape May sits in the 70th percentile, ahead of 70% of cities and behind 30%. The grade covers only Cape May's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Cape May is 18.00 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northeast part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 16 in the south neighborhoods to 1 in 132 in the northeast.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the south parts of Cape May, NJ report the most crime, about 80 cases per year. The southeast part reports the fewest, around 6 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Cape May, NJ

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Cape May for 2025 is $2,846,688, about $243 per resident and $508 per household. That equals 0.5% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 55.9%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 33.2%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 10.8%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Cape May Compared to Other Cities?

Cape May, NJ:	$243
Englewood Cliffs, NJ:	$567
Pine Lake Park, NJ:	$68
New Jersey:	$240
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Cape May is $243 per year, which is $221 less than the national average and $4 more than New Jersey's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Cape May:

In Englewood Cliffs, NJ, crime costs $567 per person, which is $324 more than in Cape May.
In Pine Lake Park, NJ, crime costs $68 per person, which is $176 less than in Cape May

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Cape May for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Cape May	Cost per Cape May Resident
Murder	$567,648	$49
Rape/Sexual Assault	$172,893	$15
Robbery	$123,415	$11
Assault	$910,335	$78
Kidnapping	$21,189	$2
Vehicle Theft	$61,085	$5
Burglary	$146,740	$13
Theft	$662,229	$57
Arson	$13,346	$1
Vandalism	$84,701	$7
Animal Cruelty	$1,109	$0
Drug Crimes	$50,012	$4
Identity Theft	$31,987	$3
Total Cost of Crime	$2,846,688	$243

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Cape May, NJ

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Cape May totals $4,888,629 ($418 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $7,735,318 ($661 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The south part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Cape May has 10, do the same, and of Cape May's 11,698 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Cape May, NJ at ISP Reports.

Cape May Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Cape May residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	2.710
Robbery	0.3354
Rape	0.2438
Murder	0.0258
Total Violent Crime	3.315 (C)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	10.93
Vehicle Theft	0.3372
Burglary	1.383
Arson	0.0472
Total Property Crime	12.70 (C+)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0299
Drug Crimes	0.5780
Vandalism	1.014
Identity Theft	0.3533
Animal Cruelty	0.0128
Total "Other" Rate	1.987 (A+)

Individual Cape May Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Cape May is similar. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Cape May.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Cold Spring, NJ	B+	C	B-
North Cape May, NJ	A+	B-	A+
West Cape May, NJ	C	C+	D+
Wildwood Gables, NJ	B+	D+	B-
Villas, NJ	A	C	B+
Cape May Point, NJ	B+	C	C+
Rio Grande, NJ	A-	C	B
Wildwood Crest, NJ	B+	D+	B-
Wildwood, NJ	D+	D	D
West Wildwood, NJ	B+	C	C

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Cape May is lower versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Camdenton, MO	C	D	D
Tillamook, OR	D-	D	D
Totowa, NJ	C	B	B
Tres Hermanos, PR	F	F	F
Chamblee, GA	F	D	D
Central, SC	D	C-	C-
Celebration, FL	A+	A	A
Urbana, MD	C+	A	A
Vineyard Haven, MA	B+	C-	C-
Cardiff By The Sea, CA	D+	D+	D+

Considering only the crime rate, Cape May is as safe as the New Jersey state average and safer than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Cape May, NJ average SchoolGrade of D, with 25% actual proficiency versus 29% projected; overall, schools don't meet expectations. See Cape May schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.