Photo: Public domain · Public domainLakewood Township sees less property crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns
The graded rate fell 26% from 2023 to 2025. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Lakewood Township at B+ (#154 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey, and #6 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): less crime per resident than 70% of U.S. towns. Typical years here bring 1.5 violent crimes plus 5.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 2.1 plus 13.9 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 Lakewood Township
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 3 New Jersey towns on Lakewood Township’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Jackson Township (A), Brick Township (B−). Howell Township 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 Lakewood Township’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 55% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 70% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Lakewood Township’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 0.9 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of New Jersey (2.5) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of New Jersey
19.2 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (23 reported in 2025), below the rest of New Jersey (46.8) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Lakewood Township reports less crime per resident than 98% (#6). Places like it ↓
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 Lakewood Township’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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Lakewood Township | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.7 | 47.3 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 23.2 | 50.8 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 18.6 | 51.6 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 16.0 | 38.4 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Lakewood Township’s police reported 1 homicides, 23 robberies and 186 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of New Jersey and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Lakewood Township property | Rest of New Jersey property | Lakewood Township violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 6.5 | 14.9 | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 5.8 | 14.1 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 4.7 | 12.7 | 1.3 | 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.
Crime in Lakewood Township 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.
859 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.
186 violent and 673 property, as reported to the FBI by Lakewood Township’s police.
27 people died in crashes on Lakewood Township’s roads in 2019–2023
Lakewood Township had 24 fatal crashes in five years, in which 27 people died; 6 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists.
That is 3.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for New Jersey towns of 100,000+ people (5.8, 7 towns).
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.
Lakewood Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood Township | B+ | 1.5 | 5.7 |
| Howell Township | — | — | — |
| Brick Township | B− | 1.4 | 11.3 |
| Jackson Township | A | 0.4 | 3.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Howell Township reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood Township | B+ | 1.5 | 5.7 |
| Toms River Township | B | 1.2 | 11.1 |
| Edison Township | C+ | 1.8 | 17.9 |
| Hamilton Township | C | 1.9 | 21.8 |
| Elizabeth | D | 4.3 | 26.8 |
| Paterson | D | 9.0 | 23.7 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Lakewood Township’s population (143,765), 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 Lakewood Township. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Lakewood Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (143,902 in 2025); our figure for Lakewood Township is 143,765 (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 Lakewood Township
Is Lakewood Township, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Lakewood Township reports less crime per resident than 70% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade and #154 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 1.5 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 Lakewood Township?
1.5 violent and 5.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New Jersey reports 2.1 and 13.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Lakewood Township in 2025?
Lakewood Township’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Lakewood Township safer than Brick Township?
Brick Township reports more crime per resident than Lakewood Township: Brick Township grades B− for safety and Lakewood Township B+. Brick Township’s police reported 1.4 violent and 11.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Lakewood Township?
Lakewood Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Lakewood Township”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Lakewood Township.
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.