Clifton is the sixth-largest city in New Jersey, with 89,200 residents in Passaic County, about 12 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Clifton?
Violent crime in Clifton sits near the national middle: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 54% of Americans live. Assaults make up 92% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 873 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Clifton as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Clifton scores 873.
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 Clifton, NJ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Clifton, 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 Clifton
Aggravated assault runs low. Clifton has 1.1 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 2.6.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Clifton
Every part of Clifton where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Clifton run from A+ to B-.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Richfield & Allwood, southwestSimple assaults run at about half the rate in the rest of Clifton.A+952
2Delawanna, southeastSimple assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Clifton.A+942
3Athenia, southAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Clifton.A+929
4Albion Place, northwestClose to the rest of Clifton on most crimes.A890
5Lake View, northeastAggravated assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Clifton.A-800
Neighborhood areas of Clifton, 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 Clifton?
Reported violent crime in Clifton has risen 48% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.1 to 1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
CliftonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Clifton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Clifton
Violent, US
2016
+112%
+4%
2017
+93%
+4%
2018
+2%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-18%
+4%
2021
-31%
+6%
2022
-6%
+5%
2023
+41%
+2%
2024
+48%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Clifton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Clifton has about 7.5 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 44% less than the US as a whole and 18% less than 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 Clifton, about 92% 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.
Violent crime in Clifton and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Clifton, 6 have less violent crime. Brookdale and Upper Montclair have the least.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Clifton apart: it has a Walk Grade of C+ (44 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 67% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more assault; here assault sits near the national middle.
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.C+ (44 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.67% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Clifton: C- (28 of 100).12 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.41 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 52% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Clifton 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 violent crime costs Clifton
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Clifton about $43 million a year, or $477 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $11 million, or $122 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 74% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.4 million
$27
Rape
$560,000
$6
Robbery
$1.3 million
$14
Assault
$6.7 million
$75
Total
$11 million
$122
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.
