Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0The crimes the grade counts fell 31% per resident in North Plainfield from 2023 to 2025
Violence and property crime split as 1.7 violent crimes and 14.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey. By contrast, the overall Safety Grade is C+ (#254 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey), which means close to the middle of U.S. towns, judged on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Among its 2 neighbors with figures, only one records less crime per resident.
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 North Plainfield
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 3 New Jersey towns on North Plainfield’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Green Brook Township (A−), Watchung (C−). Plainfield reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, lower
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so North Plainfield’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 26% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 44% 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 North Plainfield’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds North Plainfield’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (14.7) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | North Plainfield property | Rest of New Jersey property | North Plainfield violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 17.3 | 14.7 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 14.6 | 14.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 12.1 | 12.6 | 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | North Plainfield | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
North Plainfield’s police reported 114 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.7 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 North Plainfield 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.
311 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.
30 violent and 281 property, as reported to the FBI by North Plainfield’s police.
Three people died in crashes on North Plainfield’s roads in 2019–2023
North Plainfield had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three 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 North Plainfield’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so North Plainfield’s own rate (2.6) 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.
North Plainfield and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Plainfield | C+ | 1.7 | 14.7 |
| Plainfield | — | — | — |
| Watchung | C− | 0.4 | 38.7 |
| Green Brook Township | A− | 0.6 | 6.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Plainfield reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Plainfield | C+ | 1.7 | 14.7 |
| Vernon Township | A+ | 0.1 | 1.4 |
| West Deptford Township | B | 1.2 | 11.5 |
| Millburn Township | B− | 0.1 | 20.1 |
| Secaucus | C− | 1.4 | 31.2 |
| Hillside Township | C− | 2.2 | 28.6 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to North Plainfield’s population (22,879), 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 North Plainfield. 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 North Plainfield’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (23,202 in 2025); our figure for North Plainfield is 22,879 (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 North Plainfield
Is North Plainfield, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, North Plainfield reports more crime per resident than 56% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #254 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 1.7 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 North Plainfield?
1.7 violent and 14.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New Jersey reports 2.1 and 13.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is North Plainfield safer than Watchung?
Watchung reports more crime per resident than North Plainfield: Watchung grades C− for safety and North Plainfield C+. Watchung’s police reported 0.4 violent and 38.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices North Plainfield?
North Plainfield’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “North Plainfield”. 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 North Plainfield.
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.