Photo: JackTheVicar · CC BY-SA 3.0Property crime per resident is lower in Newton than in 66% of U.S. towns
The yearly rates were 1.5 violent crimes and 7.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey. What’s more, from 2023 to 2025, crimes Newton’s police reported put it at B for safety: #183 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 Newton
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 2 New Jersey towns on Newton’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Andover Township (A+). Fredon Township has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, closer to the middle
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Newton’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 46% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 64% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Newton is home to Sussex County Community College, with 1,826 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 6% 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 ↓
A job center
Newton has 5,707 jobs based in town for 8,486 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 Newton’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 | Newton | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Newton’s police reported 37 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.5 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 Newton 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 | Newton property | Rest of New Jersey property | Newton violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.1 | 13.9 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 6.2 | 14.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 7.4 | 14.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 9.0 | 12.6 | 1.2 | 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.
86 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.
10 violent and 76 property, as reported to the FBI by Newton’s police.
One person died in crashes on Newton’s roads in 2019–2023
Newton 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 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (4.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Newton’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Newton’s own rate (2.4) 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.
Newton and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton | B | 1.5 | 7.5 |
| Fredon Township | — | — | — |
| Andover Township | A+ | 0.2 | 2.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Fredon Township has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton | B | 1.5 | 7.5 |
| Hardyston Township | A | 0.4 | 2.4 |
| Kenilworth | A− | 0.2 | 7.7 |
| Northfield | B+ | 0.3 | 10.3 |
| West Long Branch | B | 0.5 | 12.6 |
| Runnemede | B− | 0.4 | 16.6 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Newton’s population (8,486), 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 Newton. 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 Newton’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (8,458 in 2025); our figure for Newton is 8,486 (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 Newton
Is Newton, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Newton reports less crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #183 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 Newton?
1.5 violent and 7.5 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 Newton safer than Andover Township?
Andover Township reports less crime per resident than Newton: Andover Township grades A+ for safety and Newton B. Andover Township’s police reported 0.2 violent and 2.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Newton?
Newton’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Newton”. 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 Newton.
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.