The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Totowa, NJ
Totowa is a borough of 11,400 in Passaic County, about 16 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
Is Totowa, NJ safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Totowa: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 69% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A+ against A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Totowa run from A+ to B-, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 905 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
69% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Totowa as a whole, and 31% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Totowa scores 905.
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 Totowa, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Totowa, 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 Totowa
Simple assault runs low. Totowa has 4.4 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 9.7.
The safest and least safe parts of Totowa
Every part of Totowa where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Totowa run from A+ to B-; 96% 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 Totowa, the west side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Totowa?
Reported property crime in Totowa has risen 23% 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 15 to 19 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
TotowaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Totowa. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Totowa
Property, US
2016
+67%
+15%
2017
+73%
+12%
2018
+32%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+8%
-8%
2021
+3%
-10%
2022
+34%
-6%
2023
+21%
-7%
2024
+23%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Totowa
CrimeGrade™ estimates Totowa has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 21% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Totowa is theft, about 57% 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 Totowa Police Department counts vandalism differently from the national definition, 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 Totowa compares with nearby cities
Totowa has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities. Cedar Grove and North Haledon have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Totowa apart: it has 1.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 24.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet vandalism runs 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.1.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.24.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 98% 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 (35 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 85% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.126 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% 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
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 84% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Totowa 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 Totowa
Crime costs Totowa about $676 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 44% 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 $6.1 million a year, or $538 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$210,000
$19
Rape
$84,000
$7
Robbery
$130,000
$12
Assault
$700,000
$61
Burglary
$81,000
$7
Theft
$980,000
$86
Vehicle theft
$290,000
$25
Arson
$7,300
$1
Vandalism
$330,000
$29
Total
$2.8 million
$247
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 Totowa 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 Totowa, NJ average a SchoolGrade of D+: 34% of students test proficient, against 29% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Totowa on SchoolGrade
