Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Crime per resident in Paterson runs higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
It has more violent crime than 97% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 83%. Its Safety Grade is D, on crimes Paterson’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #334 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey, and #252 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Typical years here bring 9.0 violent crimes plus 23.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 2.0 plus 13.6 in the rest of New Jersey. The crimes the grade counts fell 6% per resident from 2023 to 2025.
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 Paterson
4 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 New Jersey towns on Paterson’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Hawthorne (A−), Woodland Park (B+), Prospect Park (B), Elmwood Park (C). Fair Lawn reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Haledon reported to the FBI for 2025 but not 2023 or 2024. Clifton and Totowa reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Paterson’s police reported 14 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 8.2 per 100,000 residents a year, 3.5 times the rest of New Jersey (2.4) and above all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 5.2 times the rest of New Jersey
225 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (336 reported in 2025), 5.2 times the rest of New Jersey (43.0) and 2.8 times 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, Paterson reports less crime per resident than 22% (#252). 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 Paterson’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 higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Paterson | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 9.6 | 2.8 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 6.3 | 2.4 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 8.7 | 1.9 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Paterson | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 219 | 47.1 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 247 | 47.3 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 209 | 34.9 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Paterson’s police reported 14 homicides, 336 robberies and 1,334 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.
Crime in Paterson 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 8 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Paterson property | Rest of New Jersey property | Paterson violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 24.5 | 14.6 | 9.0 | 2.1 |
| 2024 | 23.5 | 13.8 | 9.8 | 2.0 |
| 2025 | 23.2 | 12.4 | 8.3 | 1.8 |
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, 2023–2025, against the rest of New Jersey.
5,057 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.
1,334 violent and 3,723 property, as reported to the FBI by Paterson’s police.
40 people died in crashes on Paterson’s roads in 2019–2023
Paterson had 39 fatal crashes in five years, in which 40 people died; 13 were pedestrians and 3 were cyclists. 6 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 5.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as 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.
Paterson and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paterson | D | 9.0 | 23.7 |
| Fair Lawn | — | — | — |
| Elmwood Park | C | 2.3 | 19.5 |
| Prospect Park | B | 0.8 | 13.2 |
| Hawthorne | A− | 0.2 | 8.0 |
| Woodland Park | B+ | 0.6 | 10.3 |
| Haledon | — | — | — |
| Clifton | — | — | — |
| Totowa | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Fair Lawn reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Haledon reported to the FBI for 2025 but not 2023 or 2024. Clifton and Totowa reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paterson | D | 9.0 | 23.7 |
| 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 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Paterson’s population (161,793), 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 Paterson. 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 Paterson’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (160,567 in 2025); our figure for Paterson is 161,793 (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 Paterson
Is Paterson, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Paterson reports more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #334 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 9.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.0 in the rest of New Jersey and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Paterson?
9.0 violent and 23.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New Jersey reports 2.0 and 13.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Paterson in 2025?
Paterson’s police reported 14 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 8.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Paterson safer than Elmwood Park?
Elmwood Park reports less crime per resident than Paterson: Elmwood Park grades C for safety and Paterson D. Elmwood Park’s police reported 2.3 violent and 19.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Paterson?
Paterson’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Paterson”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Paterson.
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.