The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in North Plainfield, NJ
North Plainfield is a borough of 21,700 in Somerset County, about 25 miles west of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
Is North Plainfield, NJ safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, North Plainfield has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within North Plainfield run from A to C+, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 746 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Plainfield as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Plainfield scores 746.
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 Plainfield, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Plainfield, 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 Plainfield
One weak spot: robbery. It grades B- in North Plainfield, worse than in the neighborhoods where 82% of Americans live, against A- for violent crime as a whole.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In North Plainfield, 43% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of North Plainfield
Low crime is the norm across North Plainfield: 94% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across North Plainfield run from A to C+; 11% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
94%
A or B 94%C 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within North Plainfield, the southwest side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Is crime going up in North Plainfield?
Reported property crime in North Plainfield has risen 11% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 13 to 15 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 15%.
Property crime, change since 2019
North PlainfieldUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves North Plainfield. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, North Plainfield
Property, US
2016
+35%
+15%
2017
+79%
+12%
2018
+20%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
-8%
2021
-7%
-10%
2022
+5%
-6%
2023
+31%
-7%
2024
+11%
-15%
Crime rates and types in North Plainfield
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Plainfield has about 28 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 25% less than the US as a whole and close to 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.
Theft is the most common crime in North Plainfield, about 44% 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 Plainfield
North Plainfield has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In North Plainfield, 70% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (70%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (48%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (43%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How North Plainfield compares with nearby cities
North Plainfield has more crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities. Warren and Gillette have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from North Plainfield. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, North Plainfield is safer than 53% of them.
Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in North Plainfield
Two things set North Plainfield apart: it has 0.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 0.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.0.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower 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.C+ (42 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.14 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 93% of US city residents
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
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.51% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 84% 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 Plainfield
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs North Plainfield about $836 a year per household, 31% 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 $14 million a year, or $625 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$610,000
$28
Rape
$430,000
$20
Robbery
$460,000
$21
Aggravated assault
$370,000
$17
Simple assault
$1.3 million
$62
Burglary
$250,000
$12
Theft
$1.4 million
$63
Vehicle theft
$450,000
$21
Arson
$8,800
under $1
Vandalism
$420,000
$19
Total
$5.7 million
$263
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 Plainfield 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 Plainfield 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 Plainfield, NJ average a SchoolGrade of F: 20% of students test proficient, against 19% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in North Plainfield on SchoolGrade
