The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in East Meadow, NY

East Meadow is an unincorporated community of 36,600 in Nassau County, about 25 miles east of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026

Is East Meadow, NY safe?

Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in East Meadow: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 65% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.

A
Overall CrimeGrade™Safety score 894 of 1,000
Safer than most US neighborhoods What this means

65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than East Meadow as a whole, and 35% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. East Meadow scores 894.

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.

A
Violent crimeSafety score 919 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoods
A
Property crimeSafety score 849 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhood

How it works


Crime map of East Meadow

Map of East Meadow shaded by overall 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 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 Meadow, NY at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in East Meadow, 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 Meadow

Burglaries and aggravated assaults both run low. In East Meadow, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.77 burglaries and 0.96 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 2.6 nationally.


The safest and least safe parts of East Meadow

Every part of East Meadow where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across East Meadow run from A+ to A; every part of East Meadow has less crime than the typical US neighborhood.

A or B 100%

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

Within East Meadow, the east side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.


Is crime going up in East Meadow?

Reported crime in East Meadow has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 44% and property crime up 20%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.2 to 1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 9.1 to 11 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 19%.

Violent crime, change since 2019

Property crime, change since 2019

East MeadowUnited States

Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve East Meadow. The charts follow crimes per resident.

Data table
YearViolent, East MeadowViolent, USProperty, East MeadowProperty, US
2016-2%+4%+11%+15%
2017-6%+4%+5%+12%
2018-15%+0%+0%+4%
2019+0%+0%+0%+0%
2020+8%+4%-13%-8%
2021+24%+6%-7%-10%
2022+45%+5%+40%-6%
2023+56%+2%+48%-7%
2024+44%-4%+20%-15%

Crime rates and types in East Meadow

CrimeGrade™ estimates East Meadow has about 17 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 53% less than the US as a whole and 56% less than New York.

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 is the most common crime in East Meadow, about 53% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
Violent crime
MurderA+under 1under 0.010.05
RapeA50.140.38
RobberyA110.290.62
AssaultA1524.212.3
Property crime
BurglaryA280.772.4
TheftB+3379.213.1
Vehicle theftA+80.212.7
ArsonA+under 10.030.12
VandalismA-972.65.5

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 East Meadow compares with nearby cities

East Meadow has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities.

Nearby cities

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
East MeadowA894AA36,600
North Bellmore 2 milesA903A+A20,100
North Merrick 2 milesA898AA12,400
Uniondale 2 milesA-781A-A-29,300
Hempstead 3 milesB636BB-60,100
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Salisbury 2 milesA893AA-12,400
Levittown 2 milesA903A+A42,200
East Garden City 2 milesA892A+A-1,610
North Wantagh 2 milesA915A+A10,800
Roosevelt 3 milesB+719B+B+18,900
Westbury 3 milesA871AA-20,200

Nearest first, with each place's distance from East Meadow. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with cities of similar size and density, East Meadow is safer than 76% of them.

Cities of similar size and density

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
East MeadowA894AA36,600
Natick, MAA+926A+A36,400
Erie, COA902A+A-36,500
Culpeper, VAA898AA36,800
Carpentersville, ILA874AA36,800
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Pleasant Grove, UTA-844A-A-36,400
Richfield, MNA-827AB+36,600
San Lorenzo, PRB+753BA36,600
Isabela, PRB+733BA36,300
Clementon, NJB673BB36,500
Mission Bend, TXB-595B-B36,500

Night lighting, transit and walkability in East Meadow

Two things set East Meadow apart: it has 16 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 0.6 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery, and they run high here.

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
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 Meadow: D (18 of 100).16 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 90% 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. 74% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (24 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 72% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 88% 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.3.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.27 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 75% of US city residents

BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of East Meadow 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 crime costs East Meadow

Crime costs East Meadow about $469 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 61% 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 $15 million a year, or $398 per resident.

How the cost breaks down
CrimeCost a yearPer resident
Murder$420,000$12
Rape$300,000$8
Robbery$330,000$9
Assault$1.9 million$51
Burglary$250,000$7
Theft$1.7 million$47
Vehicle theft$120,000$3
Arson$23,000$1
Vandalism$680,000$19
Total$5.7 million$156

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 Meadow 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. East Meadow 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


Schools in East Meadow

Schools in East Meadow, NY average a SchoolGrade of A: 74% of students test proficient, against 66% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in East Meadow on SchoolGrade