The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Scotch Plains, NJ: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	A+
Property Crime Grade	B
Other Crime Grade	A+

Which crimes are included?

$4.70 million

Cost of Crime™ for Scotch Plains, NJ

In 2025, crime will cost $545 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Scotch Plains with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Scotch Plains, NJ Safe?

The A overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Scotch Plains's combined rate is much lower than the norm. Scotch Plains sits in the 87th percentile, ahead of 87% of cities and behind 13%. The grade covers only Scotch Plains's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Scotch Plains is 13.36 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the southwest part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 48 in the west neighborhoods to 1 in 108 in the southwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southeast parts of Scotch Plains, NJ report the most crime, about 88 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 2 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Scotch Plains, NJ

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Scotch Plains for 2025 is $4,703,503, about $189 per resident and $545 per household. That equals 0.2% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 54.0%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 35.2%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 10.8%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Scotch Plains Compared to Other Cities?

Scotch Plains, NJ:	$189
Englewood Cliffs, NJ:	$567
Pine Lake Park, NJ:	$68
New Jersey:	$240
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Scotch Plains is $189 per year, which is $275 less than the national average and $50 less than New Jersey's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Scotch Plains:

In Englewood Cliffs, NJ, crime costs $567 per person, which is $378 more than in Scotch Plains.
In Pine Lake Park, NJ, crime costs $68 per person, which is $122 less than in Scotch Plains

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Scotch Plains for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Scotch Plains	Cost per Scotch Plains Resident
Murder	$1.43 million	$57
Rape/Sexual Assault	$371,579	$15
Robbery	$250,178	$10
Assault	$378,644	$15
Kidnapping	$55,631	$2
Vehicle Theft	$635,066	$26
Burglary	$254,147	$10
Theft	$944,348	$38
Arson	$19,722	$1
Vandalism	$233,276	$9
Animal Cruelty	$1,895	$0
Drug Crimes	$86,708	$3
Identity Theft	$46,662	$2
Total Cost of Crime	$4,703,503	$189

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Scotch Plains, NJ

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Scotch Plains totals $11,453,320 ($461 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $16,156,822 ($650 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The west part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Scotch Plains has 3, do the same, and of Scotch Plains's 24,839 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Scotch Plains, NJ at ISP Reports.

Scotch Plains Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Scotch Plains residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	0.5308
Robbery	0.3202
Rape	0.2467
Murder	0.0305
Total Violent Crime	1.128 (A+)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	7.341
Vehicle Theft	1.651
Burglary	1.128
Arson	0.0329
Total Property Crime	10.15 (B)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0369
Drug Crimes	0.4719
Vandalism	1.315
Identity Theft	0.2427
Animal Cruelty	0.0103
Total "Other" Rate	2.076 (A+)

Individual Scotch Plains Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Scotch Plains is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Scotch Plains.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Fanwood, NJ	A-	A+	C+
Westfield, NJ	A-	A+	C+
Plainfield, NJ	B	B+	C
Mountainside, NJ	B+	A+	C+
Garwood, NJ	B+	A+	C+
North Plainfield, NJ	B+	B+	C
Clark, NJ	B	A+	C
Watchung, NJ	C-	B+	D
Cranford, NJ	A-	A+	C+
Berkeley Heights, NJ	A+	A+	A-

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Scotch Plains is lower versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Amsterdam, NY	C	D	D
Mountain Brook, AL	C-	A-	A-
Oakland, CT	C-	A	A
Norton Shores, MI	C+	D	D
Northfield, MN	C	B	B
North Haven, CT	C+	A+	A+
Newton, NC	D+	C-	C-
Newport, RI	C-	B	B
New Caney, TX	C+	C-	C-
Natchitoches, LA	D-	D-	D-

Considering only the crime rate, Scotch Plains is safer than the New Jersey state average and safer than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Scotch Plains, NJ average SchoolGrade of A-, with 57% actual proficiency versus 48% projected; overall, schools greatly exceed expectations. See Scotch Plains schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.