Wildwood is a city of 5,610 in Cape May County, about 35 miles southwest of downtown Atlantic City · Updated November 2026
Is Wildwood, NJ safe?
Crime in Wildwood is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 71% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Wildwood. Violent crime grades B and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Wildwood run from A to C-, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 685 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Wildwood as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wildwood scores 685.
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 Wildwood, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wildwood, 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 Wildwood
Burglaries run high for a B-graded city. Wildwood has 7.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a B-graded US city, the figure is 2.7.
Theft at about triple the US rate. Wildwood has 43.6 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Wildwood
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wildwood has about 84 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and about triple the rate for 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 Wildwood, about 52% 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.
The Wildwood Police Department's 2024 count of burglary fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Wildwood compares with nearby cities
Wildwood has the most crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Two things set Wildwood apart: it has 61.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 15.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.61.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.15.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 96% 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. 52% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (64 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 95% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.4.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 94% 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 65% of US city residents
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 Wildwood: D (16 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 62% 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 Wildwood
Crime costs Wildwood about $1,827 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 52% more 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 $13 million a year, or $2,333 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$890,000
$158
Rape
$180,000
$32
Robbery
$120,000
$21
Assault
$1.3 million
$232
Burglary
$360,000
$64
Theft
$1.3 million
$224
Vehicle theft
$370,000
$65
Arson
$53,000
$9
Vandalism
$150,000
$26
Total
$4.7 million
$832
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 Wildwood 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 Wildwood, NJ average a SchoolGrade of D-: 26% of students test proficient, against 27% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Wildwood on SchoolGrade
