The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in East Haven, CT
East Haven is a town of 29,500 in South Central Connecticut Planning Region, about 3 miles southeast of downtown New Haven · Updated November 2026
Is East Haven, CT safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, East Haven has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 68% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within East Haven run from A to D-, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 716 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
32% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than East Haven as a whole, and 68% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. East Haven scores 716.
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 East Haven, CT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in East Haven, 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 East Haven
Aggravated assaults are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in East Haven runs 32% above the US rate, but aggravated assaults run at less than half that rate: 0.92 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Car thefts happen at homes far more often than nationally. In East Haven, 77% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of East Haven
Most of East Haven grades well: 89% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 8% in areas graded D or F. Grades across East Haven run from A to D-; 16% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
89%
A or B 89%C 3%D or F 8%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within East Haven, the northeast side has the least crime and the northwest side the most.
Is crime going up in East Haven?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in East Haven is down 23%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.3 to 1.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 20 to 19 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 27%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
East HavenUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves East Haven. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, East Haven
Violent, US
Property, East Haven
Property, US
2016
-9%
+4%
+14%
+15%
2017
+13%
+4%
+5%
+12%
2018
-42%
+0%
+3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-3%
+4%
+5%
-8%
2021
+23%
+6%
+20%
-10%
2022
+37%
+5%
+30%
-6%
2023
-6%
+2%
+31%
-7%
2024
-23%
-4%
-4%
-15%
Crime rates and types in East Haven
CrimeGrade™ estimates East Haven has about 49 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 32% more than the US as a whole and 81% more than Connecticut.
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.
Theft makes up about 31% of crime reported in East Haven. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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.
Where and when crime happens in East Haven
East Haven has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In East Haven, 52% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 76% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (52%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Homes (77%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (76%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (70%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How East Haven compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to East Haven, 7 have less crime. North Branford and Branford have the least.
Two things set East Haven apart: it has 27 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 6 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with few jobs tend to report less theft and robbery, yet theft and robbery run higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.27 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 76% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 74% 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 and assault. 82% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 55% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for East Haven: D+ (22 of 100).6 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 74% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 66% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 59% 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 crime costs East Haven
Crime costs East Haven about $1,076 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 11% less than 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 $27 million a year, or $915 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.2 million
$42
Rape
$460,000
$16
Robbery
$350,000
$12
Assault
$3.8 million
$129
Burglary
$530,000
$18
Theft
$2.3 million
$78
Vehicle theft
$2.3 million
$78
Arson
$32,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$79
Total
$13 million
$453
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 East Haven 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 East Haven, CT average a SchoolGrade of D: 33% of students test proficient, against 34% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in East Haven on SchoolGrade
