Photo: File:Rea House.jpg: Lithium6ion derivative work: Georgfotoart · Public domainHawthorne has less violent crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns
Overall, Hawthorne grades A− for safety (#119 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey): less crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. What’s more, the graded rate fell 43% from 2023 to 2025. Per 1,000 residents a year, 0.2 violent crime and 8.0 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 2.1 and 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 Hawthorne
2 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 New Jersey towns on Hawthorne’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Ridgewood (A−), Glen Rock (A−), Prospect Park (B), Paterson (D). North Haledon and Wyckoff Township reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Fair Lawn reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, closer to the middle
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Hawthorne’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 65% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 78% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Hawthorne’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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Hawthorne property | Rest of New Jersey property | Hawthorne violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8.1 | 13.9 | 0.2 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 9.8 | 14.8 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 8.7 | 14.0 | 0.3 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 5.7 | 12.6 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of New Jersey.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Hawthorne | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Hawthorne’s police reported 14 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.2 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 Hawthorne 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.
117 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 115 property, as reported to the FBI by Hawthorne’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Hawthorne’s roads in 2019–2023
Hawthorne had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died; 3 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 Hawthorne’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Hawthorne’s own rate (4.1) 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.
Hawthorne and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne | A− | 0.2 | 8.0 |
| North Haledon | — | — | — |
| Paterson | D | 9.0 | 23.7 |
| Glen Rock | A− | 0.2 | 6.5 |
| Fair Lawn | — | — | — |
| Prospect Park | B | 0.8 | 13.2 |
| Wyckoff Township | — | — | — |
| Ridgewood | A− | 0.4 | 5.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. North Haledon and Wyckoff Township reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Fair Lawn reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne | A− | 0.2 | 8.0 |
| Sparta Township | A | 0.4 | 3.8 |
| Point Pleasant | A | 0.7 | 4.1 |
| Palisades Park | A− | 0.4 | 6.5 |
| Middle Township | C | 2.9 | 16.9 |
| Maple Shade Township | C− | 3.5 | 18.9 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Hawthorne’s population (20,169), 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 Hawthorne. 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 Hawthorne’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (20,096 in 2025); our figure for Hawthorne is 20,169 (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 Hawthorne
Is Hawthorne, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Hawthorne reports less crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade and #119 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 0.2 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 Hawthorne?
0.2 violent and 8.0 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 Hawthorne safer than Paterson?
Paterson reports more crime per resident than Hawthorne: Paterson grades D for safety and Hawthorne A−. Paterson’s police reported 9.0 violent and 23.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Hawthorne?
Hawthorne’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Hawthorne”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Hawthorne.
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.