Atlantic City is a city of 38,600 in Atlantic County and the main city of the Atlantic City metro area, home to 371,200 · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Atlantic City?
Atlantic City grades C- for violent crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 90% of Americans live. Assaults make up 89% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
C-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 321 of 1,000More violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
10% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Atlantic City as a whole, and 90% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Atlantic City scores 321.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Atlantic City, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Atlantic 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 about violent crime in Atlantic City
Robberies run high in Lower Chelsea, Chelsea & Chelsea Heights. In this part of southwest Atlantic City, they run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Atlantic City.
Aggravated assaults and reported rapes both run high. In Atlantic City, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 11.2 aggravated assaults and 1.8 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 0.38 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Atlantic City
In Atlantic City, 16% of residents live in areas graded A or B for violent crime, 11% in areas graded C and 73% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Atlantic City run from B+ to F.
16%11%73%
A or B 16%C 11%D or F 73%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Ducktown, southRobberies run at about half the rate in the rest of Atlantic City.B648
2Lower Chelsea, Chelsea & Chelsea Heights, southwestClose to the rest of Atlantic City on most crimes.D+255
3Bungalow Park, northeastClose to the rest of Atlantic City on most crimes.D191
4Westside & Atlantic City Inlet, eastRobberies run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Atlantic City.F0
5Venice Park, northwestAggravated assaults run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Atlantic City.F0
Neighborhood areas of Atlantic City, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is violent crime going up in Atlantic City?
Reported violent crime in Atlantic City has risen 99% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 8.6 to 18 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Atlantic CityUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Atlantic City. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Atlantic City
Violent, US
2016
+56%
+4%
2017
+31%
+4%
2018
-14%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+29%
+4%
2021
+69%
+6%
2022
+98%
+5%
2023
+121%
+2%
2024
+105%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Atlantic City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Atlantic City has about 59 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and more than triple the rate for New Jersey.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Atlantic City, about 89% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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.
Where and when violent crime happens in Atlantic City
Atlantic City has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Atlantic City, 31% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 47% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Streets and sidewalks (32%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Atlantic City and nearby cities
Atlantic City has the most violent crime of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Atlantic City. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Atlantic City has more violent crime than 93% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Atlantic City apart: it has 108 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and a Walk Grade of B+ (67 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more robbery than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.108 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 97% 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 assault. 63% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (67 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 95% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.84% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Atlantic City: C- (31 of 100).13 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 88% 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 violent crime costs Atlantic City
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Atlantic City about $201 million a year, or $5,210 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $46 million, or $1,193 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 77% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$12 million
$317
Rape
$4.3 million
$111
Robbery
$5.6 million
$144
Assault
$24 million
$620
Total
$46 million
$1,193
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
