The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Wanaque, NJ
Wanaque is a borough of 11,900 in Passaic County, about 25 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
Is Wanaque, NJ safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Wanaque: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 82% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 941 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
82% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Wanaque as a whole, and 18% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wanaque scores 941.
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 Wanaque, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wanaque, 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 Wanaque
Theft runs low. Wanaque has 2.1 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 13.1.
The safest and least safe parts of Wanaque
Every part of Wanaque where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Wanaque run from A+ to A; every part of Wanaque 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 Wanaque, the east side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Is crime going up in Wanaque?
Reported property crime in Wanaque has fallen 36% 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 2.9 to 1.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
WanaqueUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Wanaque. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Wanaque
Property, US
2016
+146%
+15%
2017
+136%
+12%
2018
+109%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-23%
-8%
2021
-21%
-10%
2022
-13%
-6%
2023
-26%
-7%
2024
-36%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Wanaque
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wanaque has about 10 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 73% less than the US as a whole and 63% 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 Wanaque is assault, about 43% 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 Wanaque Police Department counts vandalism differently from the national definition, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate. The department's 2024 count of simple assault fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead. The department's 2024 count of burglary fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting gap, so CrimeGrade™ used its own estimate instead.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Wanaque compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Wanaque, 6 have less crime. Ringwood and Franklin Lakes have the least.
Two things set Wanaque apart: it has 0.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 21 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.0.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.21 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 85% 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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (13 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 64% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 85% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 83% 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.77% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 73% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Wanaque 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 Wanaque
Crime costs Wanaque about $240 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 80% 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 $2.6 million a year, or $215 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$95,000
$8
Rape
$41,000
$3
Robbery
$36,000
$3
Assault
$480,000
$40
Burglary
$140,000
$11
Theft
$130,000
$11
Vehicle theft
$31,000
$3
Arson
$3,900
under $1
Vandalism
$180,000
$15
Total
$1.1 million
$95
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 Wanaque 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. Wanaque 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 Wanaque, NJ average a SchoolGrade of B-: 44% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Wanaque on SchoolGrade
