Photo: ajay_suresh · CC BY 4.0Princeton has less violent crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns
Its 4 neighbors with figures all record more crime per resident. What’s more, each year brought 0.5 violent crime and 6.8 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey). Princeton grades A− for safety overall (#117 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey): less crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 27% 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 Princeton
Princeton reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 7 New Jersey towns on Princeton’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Hopewell Township (A−), Franklin Township (B+), South Brunswick Township (B+), Lawrence Township (B−). Montgomery Township reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. West Windsor Township and Plainsboro Township reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, closer to the middle
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Princeton’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 66% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 79% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Princeton is home to Princeton University, with 8,922 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 29% 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
Princeton has 23,752 jobs based in town for 31,469 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read 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 Princeton’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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Princeton | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Princeton’s police reported 45 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.1 in the rest of New Jersey and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Princeton property | Rest of New Jersey property | Princeton violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7.3 | 13.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 7.7 | 14.8 | 0.6 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 7.2 | 14.0 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 0.4 | 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 Princeton 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.
190 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.
13 violent and 177 property, as reported to the FBI by Princeton’s police.
Eight people died in crashes on Princeton’s roads in 2019–2023
Princeton had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which eight people died; 3 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for New Jersey towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Princeton’s size would see about 9 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Princeton’s own rate (5.2) 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.
Princeton and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | A− | 0.5 | 6.8 |
| Montgomery Township | — | — | — |
| West Windsor Township | — | — | — |
| Franklin Township | B+ | 0.7 | 9.2 |
| Lawrence Township | B− | 0.3 | 16.4 |
| Plainsboro Township | — | — | — |
| South Brunswick Township | B+ | 1.2 | 7.4 |
| Hopewell Township | A− | 0.7 | 6.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Montgomery Township reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. West Windsor Township and Plainsboro Township reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | A− | 0.5 | 6.8 |
| Nutley Township | A− | 0.7 | 6.9 |
| Stafford Township | B+ | 0.5 | 8.4 |
| Livingston Township | B+ | 0.6 | 9.3 |
| Rahway | B | 1.8 | 8.6 |
| Voorhees Township | B− | 0.7 | 16.4 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Princeton’s population (31,469), 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 Princeton. 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 Princeton’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (31,613 in 2025); our figure for Princeton is 31,469 (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 Princeton
Is Princeton, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Princeton reports less crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade and #117 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 0.5 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 Princeton?
0.5 violent and 6.8 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.
How many homicides were there in Princeton in 2025?
Princeton’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.2 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Princeton safer than Franklin Township?
Franklin Township reports more crime per resident than Princeton: Franklin Township grades B+ for safety and Princeton A−. Franklin Township’s police reported 0.7 violent and 9.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Princeton?
Princeton’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Princeton”. 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 Princeton.
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.