Central West is a neighborhood of 3,510 residents in Trenton, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Central West in Trenton safe?
Central West is among the higher-crime places in the US: an overall CrimeGrade™ of F, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 97% of Americans live. Violent crime grades F and property crime D+. Trenton as a whole grades B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Central West run from C- to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
3% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Central West as a whole, and 97% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Central West scores 0.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Central West, Trenton, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Central West in Trenton, 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 in Central West
Car thefts and aggravated assaults both run high. In Central West, each runs at more than double the US rate: 7.4 car thefts and 6.9 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.6 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Central West
CrimeGrade™ estimates Central West has about 82 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and 82% more than Trenton as a whole.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in Central West, about 39% of everything reported.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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.
How Central West compares with nearby neighborhoods
Central West has the most crime of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Two things set Central West apart: it has 12.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 80 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.12.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 88% of residents of US city neighborhoods
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.80 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 83% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 and assault.B (60 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 72% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.16% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 71% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 crime costs Central West
Crime costs Central West about $4,196 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about triple the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $24 million a year, or $6,793 per resident.
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Central West means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Central West, Trenton, NJ average a SchoolGrade of F: 11% of students test proficient, against 11% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Central West on SchoolGrade
