The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in North Bergen, NJ
North Bergen is a township of 59,000 in Hudson County, about 3 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
Is North Bergen, NJ safe?
Yes, crime in North Bergen is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, North Bergen sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 46% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within North Bergen run from A to B-, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 815 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
46% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Bergen as a whole, and 54% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Bergen scores 815.
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 North Bergen, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Bergen, 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 North Bergen
Burglary is a strength. North Bergen grades A- for property crime, but burglary grades A+, better than in the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In North Bergen, 62% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of North Bergen
Every part of North Bergen where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across North Bergen run from A to B-; 18% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within North Bergen, the north side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.
Is crime going up in North Bergen?
Reported crime in North Bergen has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 41% and property crime up 13%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.5 to 2.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 6.6 to 7.5 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 71% and property crime fell 12%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
North BergenUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves North Bergen. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, North Bergen
Violent, US
Property, North Bergen
Property, US
2016
+17%
+4%
+46%
+15%
2017
+5%
+4%
+18%
+12%
2018
+8%
+0%
+7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-44%
+4%
-27%
-8%
2021
-17%
+6%
-15%
-10%
2022
-3%
+5%
+2%
-6%
2023
-18%
+2%
+29%
-7%
2024
+41%
-4%
+13%
-15%
Crime rates and types in North Bergen
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Bergen has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 57% less than the US as a whole and 42% less than New Jersey.
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 North Bergen, about 39% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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 North Bergen
North Bergen has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In North Bergen, 51% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (51%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (57%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (62%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (41%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (46%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
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 North Bergen compares with nearby cities
North Bergen has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest cities.
Two things set North Bergen apart: it has 96% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 38 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more robbery and car theft, and they run high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.96% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 97% 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 North Bergen: C (38 of 100).38 trips an hourUS: noneHigher 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 and assault. 61% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (71 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 96% of US city residents
Show all 6
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
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
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 73% 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 North Bergen
Crime costs North Bergen about $558 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 54% 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 $44 million a year, or $752 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.8 million
$47
Rape
$840,000
$14
Robbery
$840,000
$14
Assault
$4.4 million
$74
Burglary
$210,000
$4
Theft
$1.8 million
$30
Vehicle theft
$950,000
$16
Arson
$19,000
under $1
Vandalism
$700,000
$12
Total
$12 million
$212
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 North Bergen 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. North Bergen 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
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 North Bergen, NJ average a SchoolGrade of D: 30% of students test proficient, against 25% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in North Bergen on SchoolGrade
