Photo: LTwomey02 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer crimes per resident are recorded in Clayton than in 71% of U.S. towns
The yearly rates were 1.0 violent crime and 7.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey. Among its 4 neighbors with figures, only one records less crime per resident. Clayton grades B+ for safety on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025: #150 of 342 graded towns in 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 Clayton
1 of the 4 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 New Jersey towns on Clayton’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Elk Township (A−), Franklin Township (B), Monroe Township (B), Glassboro (B−). Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, closer to the middle
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Clayton’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 56% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 71% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Clayton’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; violent crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Clayton | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Clayton’s police reported 27 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.0 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 Clayton 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 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 | Clayton property | Rest of New Jersey property | Clayton violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.4 | 13.9 | 1.3 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 7.4 | 14.8 | 0.8 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 7.5 | 14.0 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 6.7 | 12.6 | 0.8 | 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.
68 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.
7 violent and 61 property, as reported to the FBI by Clayton’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Clayton’s roads in 2019–2023
Clayton had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four 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 Clayton’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Clayton’s own rate (9.0) 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.
Clayton and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | B+ | 1.0 | 7.2 |
| Elk Township | A− | 0.7 | 6.9 |
| Glassboro | B− | 1.8 | 12.2 |
| Monroe Township | B | 1.4 | 10.2 |
| Franklin Township | B | 1.2 | 9.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | B+ | 1.0 | 7.2 |
| Chesterfield Township | A+ | 0.2 | 1.4 |
| Pitman | A | 0.4 | 3.1 |
| Mansfield Township | A− | 0.9 | 6.0 |
| Boonton | B+ | 0.4 | 8.3 |
| Absecon | C− | 2.6 | 25.3 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Clayton’s population (9,041), 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 Clayton. 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 Clayton’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (9,057 in 2025); our figure for Clayton is 9,041 (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 Clayton
Is Clayton, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Clayton reports less crime per resident than 71% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade and #150 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 1.0 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 Clayton?
1.0 violent and 7.2 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 Clayton safer than Elk Township?
Elk Township reports less crime per resident than Clayton: Elk Township grades A− for safety and Clayton B+. Elk Township’s police reported 0.7 violent and 6.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Clayton?
Clayton’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Clayton”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Clayton.
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.