The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in South Plainfield, NJ: Crime Maps and Statistics

B-

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	A-
Property Crime Grade	D+
Other Crime Grade	A

Which crimes are included?

$6.67 million

Cost of Crime™ for South Plainfield, NJ

In 2025, crime will cost $778 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of South Plainfield 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 South Plainfield, NJ Safe?

The B- overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where South Plainfield's combined rate is slightly lower than the norm. South Plainfield sits in the 56th percentile, ahead of 56% of cities and behind 44%. The grade covers only South Plainfield's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in South Plainfield is 22.24 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northwest part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 20 in the southwest neighborhoods to 1 in 71 in the northwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the south parts of South Plainfield, NJ report the most crime, about 127 cases per year. The north part reports the fewest, around 24 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in South Plainfield, NJ

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in South Plainfield for 2025 is $6,666,816, about $263 per resident and $778 per household. That equals 0.5% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 57.8%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 31.9%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 10.3%

How Much Does Crime Cost in South Plainfield Compared to Other Cities?

South Plainfield, NJ:	$263
Englewood Cliffs, NJ:	$567
Pine Lake Park, NJ:	$68
New Jersey:	$240
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in South Plainfield is $263 per year, which is $201 less than the national average and $23 more than New Jersey's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to South Plainfield:

In Englewood Cliffs, NJ, crime costs $567 per person, which is $304 more than in South Plainfield.
In Pine Lake Park, NJ, crime costs $68 per person, which is $195 less than in South Plainfield

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

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

Crime	Cost to South Plainfield	Cost per South Plainfield Resident
Murder	$1.56 million	$61
Rape/Sexual Assault	$407,457	$16
Robbery	$382,537	$15
Assault	$743,595	$29
Kidnapping	$46,055	$2
Vehicle Theft	$748,168	$30
Burglary	$372,377	$15
Theft	$1.80 million	$71
Arson	$25,092	$1
Vandalism	$304,544	$12
Animal Cruelty	$2,359	$0
Drug Crimes	$113,202	$4
Identity Theft	$167,417	$7
Total Cost of Crime	$6,666,816	$263

The Intangible Cost of Crime in South Plainfield, 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 South Plainfield totals $12,656,988 ($499 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $19,323,804 ($762 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 southwest 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 do the same, and of South Plainfield's 25,359 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 South Plainfield, NJ at ISP Reports.

South Plainfield 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 South Plainfield residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	1.021
Robbery	0.4796
Rape	0.2650
Murder	0.0326
Total Violent Crime	1.798 (A-)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	13.70
Vehicle Theft	1.905
Burglary	1.619
Arson	0.0410
Total Property Crime	17.26 (D+)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0300
Drug Crimes	0.6035
Vandalism	1.681
Identity Theft	0.8530
Animal Cruelty	0.0126
Total "Other" Rate	3.180 (A)

Individual South Plainfield Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in South Plainfield is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to South Plainfield.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Plainfield, NJ	B	B+	C
Piscataway, NJ	A	A+	B
North Plainfield, NJ	B+	B+	C
Edison, NJ	B	A	C
Dunellen, NJ	B	B+	C
Metuchen, NJ	B	A	C
Watchung, NJ	C-	B+	D
Middlesex, NJ	A-	A	C+
Scotch Plains, NJ	A	A+	B
Fanwood, NJ	A-	A+	C+

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

South Plainfield is similar 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
Springfield, TN	D	D-	D-
Festus, MO	C-	C-	C-
Fish Hawk, FL	A+	A+	A+
Sheridan, WY	A-	A	A
Shippensburg, PA	A-	A+	A+
Silver Bell, AZ	B	B+	B+
Smyrna, DE	C-	C-	C-
Solon, OH	C+	B	B
South Elgin, IL	A-	A	A
Farragut, TN	D+	C+	C+

Considering only the crime rate, South Plainfield is less safe 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 South Plainfield, NJ average SchoolGrade of C-, with 32% actual proficiency versus 31% projected; overall, schools meet expectations. See South Plainfield 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.