Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY 3.0Recorded crime per resident in South Toms River fell 74% from 2023 to 2025
Of the 3 towns on its borders with figures, 2 record less crime per resident. Out of every 1,000 residents, 1.0 violent crime and 10.2 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of New Jersey. Taking everything together, South Toms River scores B (#193 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey): less crime per resident than 61% of U.S. towns, measured on crimes its police reported between 2023 and 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 South Toms River
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 New Jersey towns on South Toms River’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Beachwood (B+), Berkeley Township (B+), Toms River Township (B). Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, closer to the middle
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so South Toms River’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 44% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 61% 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 South Toms 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; violent crime is the stronger of the two.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | South Toms River property | Rest of New Jersey property | South Toms River violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 18.5 | 14.7 | 0.8 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 8.3 | 14.0 | 1.3 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 4.0 | 12.6 | 1.1 | 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, 2023–2025, against the rest of New Jersey.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | South Toms River | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South Toms River’s police reported 12 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.0 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 Toms 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.
19 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.
4 violent and 15 property, as reported to the FBI by South Toms River’s police.
One person died in crashes on South Toms River’s roads in 2019–2023
South Toms River had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for New Jersey towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (4.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of South Toms River’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so South Toms River’s own rate (5.4) 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.
South Toms River and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Toms River | B | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| Beachwood | B+ | 0.8 | 7.8 |
| Toms River Township | B | 1.2 | 11.1 |
| Berkeley Township | B+ | 1.3 | 7.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Toms River | B | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| Harding Township | A | 0.0 | 4.1 |
| Bordentown | A− | 0.5 | 6.3 |
| Netcong | A− | 1.3 | 3.8 |
| Woodstown | B+ | 1.1 | 6.3 |
| Riverdale | C | 0.6 | 26.7 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to South Toms River’s population (3,895), 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 Toms 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 Toms River’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (3,788 in 2025); our figure for South Toms River is 3,895 (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 Toms River
Is South Toms River, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South Toms River reports less crime per resident than 61% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #193 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 1.0 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 Toms River?
1.0 violent and 10.2 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 Toms River safer than Beachwood?
Beachwood reports less crime per resident than South Toms River: Beachwood grades B+ for safety and South Toms River B. Beachwood’s police reported 0.8 violent and 7.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South Toms River?
South Toms River’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South Toms River”. 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 South Toms 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.