The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Union City, NJ
Union City is a city of 67,900 in Hudson County, about 3 miles west of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
Is Union City, NJ safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B, Union City has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 75% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Union City run from A to C-, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 634 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
25% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Union City as a whole, and 75% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Union City scores 634.
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 City, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Union City, 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 City
Burglary is a strength. Union City grades C for property crime, but burglary grades A, better than in the neighborhoods where 51% of Americans live.
Vehicle theft runs low. Union City has 0.92 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 2.7.
The safest and least safe parts of Union City
Most of Union City grades well: 69% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Union City run from A to C-; 1% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
69%31%
A or B 69%C 31%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Union City, the north side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Union City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Union City has about 31 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 18% 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.
Theft makes up about 41% of crime reported in Union City. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 City Police Department's 2024 report to the FBI was missing some months of aggravated assault, simple assault, burglary, theft, vehicle theft and vandalism; 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 City compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Union City, 7 have less crime. Secaucus and Weehawken have the least.
Walkability, density and parking lots in Union City
Two things set Union City apart: it has a Walk Grade of A+ (94 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 99% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and assault, and they run high here.
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. 98% of residents here live in walkable areas.A+ (94 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.99% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 98% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Union City: C+ (48 of 100).48 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 97% 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
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.22 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 83% 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 City
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Union City about $864 a year per household, 28% 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 $61 million a year, or $895 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.3 million
$34
Rape
$690,000
$10
Robbery
$1.3 million
$19
Assault
$8.8 million
$129
Burglary
$680,000
$10
Theft
$4.4 million
$65
Vehicle theft
$960,000
$14
Arson
$21,000
under $1
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$32
Total
$21 million
$313
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 City 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. Union City is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 City, NJ average a SchoolGrade of C-: 39% of students test proficient, against 26% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Union City on SchoolGrade
