Cape May Historic District (Additional Documentation) · Photo: Smallbones · CC0More property crime is recorded per resident in Cape May than in 91% of U.S. towns
Taking everything together, Cape May scores C− (#306 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey): more crime per resident than 80% of U.S. towns, measured on crimes its police reported between 2023 and 2025. Typical years here bring 1.4 violent crimes plus 30.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 2.1 plus 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey.
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 Cape May
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 1 New Jersey towns on Cape May’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Lower Township (B+). Neighbors ↓
A job center
Cape May has 2,080 jobs based in town for 2,716 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Cape May’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Cape May’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Cape May | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Cape May’s police reported 12 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.4 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 Cape May 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 about 2 violent crimes, 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 | Cape May property | Rest of New Jersey property | Cape May violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 38.0 | 13.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 37.7 | 14.7 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 26.5 | 14.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 27.1 | 12.6 | 1.5 | 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.
78 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.
4 violent and 74 property, as reported to the FBI by Cape May’s police.
One person died in crashes on Cape May’s roads in 2019–2023
Cape May had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for New Jersey towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (4.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Cape May’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Cape May’s own rate (7.2) 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.
Cape May and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape May | C− | 1.4 | 30.4 |
| Lower Township | B+ | 1.4 | 6.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape May | C− | 1.4 | 30.4 |
| Swedesboro | A | 0.1 | 4.8 |
| Spring Lake | B | 0.1 | 15.1 |
| East Newark | B− | 1.5 | 11.0 |
| Lakehurst | C+ | 1.8 | 17.1 |
| South Hackensack Township | D | 4.6 | 27.5 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Cape May’s population (2,716), 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 Cape May. 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 Cape May’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (2,735 in 2025); our figure for Cape May is 2,716 (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 Cape May
Is Cape May, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Cape May reports more crime per resident than 80% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #306 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 1.4 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 Cape May?
1.4 violent and 30.4 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 Cape May safer than Lower Township?
Lower Township reports less crime per resident than Cape May: Lower Township grades B+ for safety and Cape May C−. Lower Township’s police reported 1.4 violent and 6.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Cape May?
Cape May’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Cape May”. 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 Cape May.
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.