Union Beach is a borough of 5,840 in Monmouth County, about 25 miles southwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
Is Union Beach, NJ safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Union Beach is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Union Beach sits near the middle: 52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 847 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Union Beach as a whole, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Union Beach scores 847.
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 Union Beach, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Union Beach, 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 Union Beach
Thefts run above the US rate. Union Beach has less crime than the US as a whole, 23% below the US rate, but more thefts: 17.0 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Union Beach
CrimeGrade™ estimates Union Beach has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 23% 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 Union Beach is theft, about 59% 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 Union Beach Police Department's 2024 count of theft fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting gap, so CrimeGrade™ used its own estimate instead. The department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate. The department's 2024 report to the FBI was missing some months of simple assault; CrimeGrade™ filled them in from the department's own monthly pattern.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Union Beach compares with nearby cities
Union Beach has more crime than 7 of its 9 nearest cities. Holmdel and Middletown have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Union Beach apart: it has 4.3 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 18 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.4.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 94% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.18 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 90% 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. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 79% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 86% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 64% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 58% 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 Union Beach
Crime costs Union Beach about $560 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 54% 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 $2.1 million a year, or $367 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$56,000
$10
Rape
$28,000
$5
Robbery
$20,000
$3
Assault
$360,000
$61
Burglary
$67,000
$11
Theft
$510,000
$87
Vehicle theft
$51,000
$9
Arson
$4,400
$1
Vandalism
$120,000
$20
Total
$1.2 million
$207
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 Union Beach 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 Union Beach, NJ average a SchoolGrade of D+: 36% of students test proficient, against 31% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Union Beach on SchoolGrade
