Photo: Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, Caldwell records less crime than 89% of U.S. towns
Scored on crimes Caldwell’s police reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on A for safety: #61 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey. Behind the grade sit 0.5 violent crime and 3.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey. Both towns on its borders with figures record more crime per resident.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of NJ” is every other New Jersey city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Caldwell
Caldwell reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 3 New Jersey towns on Caldwell’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: West Caldwell Township (A−), Essex Fells (B). North Caldwell reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
A college town
Caldwell is home to Caldwell University, with 1,822 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 10% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Caldwell’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Caldwell | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Caldwell’s police reported 14 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.1 in the rest of New Jersey and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Caldwell per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And fewer than 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Caldwell property | Rest of New Jersey property | Caldwell violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.2 | 13.9 | 0.5 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 3.3 | 14.8 | 0.7 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 3.2 | 14.0 | 0.7 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 4.6 | 12.6 | 0.2 | 2.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of New Jersey.
45 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
2 violent and 43 property, as reported to the FBI by Caldwell’s police.
Three people died in crashes on Caldwell’s roads in 2019–2023
Caldwell had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died; 2 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for New Jersey towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (4.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Caldwell’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Caldwell’s own rate (6.7) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Caldwell and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell | A | 0.5 | 3.7 |
| West Caldwell Township | A− | 0.3 | 8.3 |
| Essex Fells | B | 0.0 | 14.9 |
| North Caldwell | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. North Caldwell reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell | A | 0.5 | 3.7 |
| Ocean Township | A+ | 0.2 | 2.6 |
| Leonia | A− | 0.4 | 6.0 |
| Lopatcong Township | A− | 0.7 | 5.7 |
| Ventnor City | C− | 1.2 | 28.0 |
| Westampton Township | C− | 3.2 | 20.8 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Caldwell’s population (9,375), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Caldwell. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Caldwell’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (9,407 in 2025); our figure for Caldwell is 9,375 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Caldwell
Is Caldwell, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Caldwell reports less crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, an A Safety Grade and #61 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 0.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.1 in the rest of New Jersey and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Caldwell?
0.5 violent and 3.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New Jersey reports 2.1 and 13.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Caldwell safer than West Caldwell Township?
West Caldwell Township reports more crime per resident than Caldwell: West Caldwell Township grades A− for safety and Caldwell A. West Caldwell Township’s police reported 0.3 violent and 8.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Caldwell?
Caldwell’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Caldwell”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Caldwell.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.