The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Summit, NJ
Summit is a city of 22,800 in Union County, about 20 miles west of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
Is Summit, NJ safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Summit: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 79% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 932 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
79% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Summit as a whole, and 21% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Summit scores 932.
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 Summit, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Summit, 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 Summit
Theft runs low. Summit has 6.0 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 13.1.
The safest and least safe parts of Summit
Every part of Summit where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Summit run from A+ to A; every part of Summit has 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 Summit, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Summit?
Reported property crime in Summit has risen 16% 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 6.2 to 7.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 11%.
Property crime, change since 2019
SummitUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Summit. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Summit
Property, US
2016
+33%
+15%
2017
+41%
+12%
2018
+5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+44%
-8%
2021
+18%
-10%
2022
+44%
-6%
2023
+30%
-7%
2024
+16%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Summit
CrimeGrade™ estimates Summit has about 13 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 64% less than the US as a whole and 51% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Summit is theft, about 45% of the total. It also makes up 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.
The Summit Police Department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Summit compares with nearby cities
Summit has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities. Green Village and Mountainside have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Summit apart: it has 93 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 0.6 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.93 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 95% 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
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. 64% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (29 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 80% 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
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 Summit: D+ (24 of 100).10 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 81% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Summit 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 Summit
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Summit about $353 a year per household, 71% 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 $7.0 million a year, or $306 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$270,000
$12
Rape
$320,000
$14
Robbery
$39,000
$2
Aggravated assault
$210,000
$9
Simple assault
$590,000
$26
Burglary
$160,000
$7
Theft
$710,000
$31
Vehicle theft
$170,000
$8
Arson
$6,900
under $1
Vandalism
$310,000
$14
Total
$2.8 million
$123
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 Summit 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.
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 Summit, NJ average a SchoolGrade of A+: 65% of students test proficient, against 51% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Summit on SchoolGrade
