Essex is a town of 3,450 in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Hartford · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Essex?
Essex has less violent crime than most US neighborhoods: an A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 93% 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 972 of 1,000Less violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
93% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Essex as a whole, and 7% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Essex scores 972.
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 Essex, CT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Essex, 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
Violent crime rates and types in Essex
CrimeGrade™ estimates Essex has about 2.6 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 80% less than the US as a whole and 68% less than Connecticut.
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 Essex, 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.
Where and when violent crime happens in Essex
The Connecticut State Police polices Essex, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Essex, 39% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 59% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (59%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (39%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Essex and nearby cities
Essex has less violent crime than 4 of its 7 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Essex apart: it has a Walk Grade of D- (7 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less assault.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.NoneUS: 24%Lower 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. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 87% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.54 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 68% 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 Essex: F (3 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 53% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Essex 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 Essex
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Essex about $710,000 a year, or $205 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $160,000, or $47 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
$52,000
$15
Rape
$25,000
$7
Robbery
$7,700
$2
Assault
$77,000
$22
Total
$160,000
$47
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.
