Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0South River has less property crime per resident than 90% of U.S. towns
Violence and property crime split as 0.8 violent crime and 3.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey. Per resident, the graded rate barely moved from 2023 to 2025. Graded on crimes South River’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores A for safety: #67 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 South River
South River reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 2 New Jersey towns on South River’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: East Brunswick Township (B−). Sayreville reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind South River’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 | South River | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South River’s police reported 41 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.8 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 South River 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 | South River property | Rest of New Jersey property | South River violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.4 | 13.9 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 4.2 | 14.8 | 0.9 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 1.0 | 14.0 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 3.9 | 12.6 | 1.1 | 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.
83 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.
18 violent and 65 property, as reported to the FBI by South River’s police.
Three people died in crashes on South River’s roads in 2019–2023
South River had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died; 1 was a pedestrian and 1 was a cyclist.
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 South River’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so South River’s own rate (3.7) 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.
South River and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South River | A | 0.8 | 3.1 |
| Sayreville | — | — | — |
| East Brunswick Township | B− | 1.1 | 12.4 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Sayreville reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South River | A | 0.8 | 3.1 |
| Madison | A+ | 0.1 | 3.6 |
| Readington Township | A | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| Robbinsville Township | B+ | 0.5 | 9.0 |
| North Arlington | B | 0.9 | 11.7 |
| Clark Township | C+ | 0.5 | 20.3 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to South River’s population (16,262), 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 South River. 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 South River’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (16,459 in 2025); our figure for South River is 16,262 (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 South River
Is South River, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South River reports less crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns, an A Safety Grade and #67 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 0.8 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 South River?
0.8 violent and 3.1 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 South River safer than East Brunswick Township?
East Brunswick Township reports more crime per resident than South River: East Brunswick Township grades B− for safety and South River A. East Brunswick Township’s police reported 1.1 violent and 12.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South River?
South River’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South River”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in South River.
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.