The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Union County, NJ
Union County is home to 579,300 residents and includes Elizabeth and Plainfield · Updated November 2026
Is Union County, NJ safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Union County is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Union County sits near the middle: 41% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 59% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Union County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 787 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
41% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Union County as a whole, and 59% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Union County scores 787.
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 County, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Union County, 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 County
Murder is less common here. Union County has about 12 murders a year, a rate less than half the national one.
The safest and most dangerous places in Union County
In Union County, 73% of residents live in areas graded A or B, 9% in areas graded C and 18% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Union County run from A+ to F; 43% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
73%18%
A or B 73%C 9%D or F 18%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Union County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights areas have the least crime and the Elizabeth area the most.
Is crime going up in Union County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Union County is down 29%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.8 to 2.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 17 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 22% and property crime fell 10%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Union CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Union County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Union County
Violent, US
Property, Union County
Property, US
2016
+20%
+4%
+7%
+15%
2017
+13%
+4%
+14%
+12%
2018
-7%
+0%
+1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-12%
+4%
-19%
-8%
2021
-11%
+6%
-15%
-10%
2022
-20%
+5%
-2%
-6%
2023
-9%
+2%
+10%
-7%
2024
-29%
-4%
-1%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Union County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Union County has about 28 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 24% 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 is the most common crime in Union County, about 48% of everything reported, but assault 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.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Union County compares with nearby counties
Union County has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest counties.
Night lighting, walkability and density in Union County
Two things set Union County apart: it has a Walk Grade of C+ (45 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 56% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
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 96% of Americans
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.C+ (45 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 94% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.56% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 88% of Americans
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.4.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 84% of Americans
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 County: C- (27 of 100).8 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 80% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.43 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 53% of Americans
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 County
Crime costs Union County about $841 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 30% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $169 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $450 million a year, or $776 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$23 million
$39
Rape
$5.8 million
$10
Robbery
$9.4 million
$16
Assault
$48 million
$84
Burglary
$6.8 million
$12
Theft
$40 million
$70
Vehicle theft
$22 million
$39
Arson
$430,000
$1
Vandalism
$12 million
$21
Total
$169 million
$291
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 County 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 County, NJ average a SchoolGrade of C: 42% of students test proficient, against 35% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Union County on SchoolGrade
