Gov. William Liberty Hall (Livingston House) · Photo: Dmadeo · CC BY-SA 4.0Union Township has less violent crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns
The rate the grade counts dropped 24% from 2023 to 2025. Overall, Union Township grades B− for safety (#249 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Typical years here bring 0.7 violent crime plus 17.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 2.1 plus 13.7 in the rest of New Jersey. Next door, 3 of 7 towns with figures record 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 Union Township
3 of the 7 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 New Jersey towns on Union Township’s borders, 7 have a Safety Grade: Kenilworth (A−), Springfield Township (B+), Maplewood Township (B), Millburn Township (B−), Hillside Township (C−), Irvington Township (D), Elizabeth (D). Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, lower
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Union Township’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 27% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 46% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Union Township is home to Kean University, with 11,988 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 9% 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 ↓
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 Union Township’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Union Township’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (17.5) 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Union Township | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Union Township’s police reported 125 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.1 in the rest of New Jersey and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Union Township property | Rest of New Jersey property | Union Township violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 20.2 | 14.7 | 0.9 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 16.3 | 14.0 | 0.9 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 15.9 | 12.6 | 0.2 | 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.
Crime in Union Township 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.
1,031 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 1,018 property, as reported to the FBI by Union Township’s police.
16 people died in crashes on Union Township’s roads in 2019–2023
Union Township had 15 fatal crashes in five years, in which 16 people died; 6 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 6 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 5.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for New Jersey towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.8, 102 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.
Union Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | B− | 0.7 | 17.5 |
| Hillside Township | C− | 2.2 | 28.6 |
| Springfield Township | B+ | 0.8 | 9.9 |
| Kenilworth | A− | 0.2 | 7.7 |
| Millburn Township | B− | 0.1 | 20.1 |
| Elizabeth | D | 4.3 | 26.8 |
| Maplewood Township | B | 0.6 | 11.7 |
| Irvington Township | D | 4.3 | 25.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | B− | 0.7 | 17.5 |
| Jackson Township | A | 0.4 | 3.6 |
| Middletown Township | A− | 0.6 | 6.1 |
| North Bergen Township | B | 1.6 | 7.5 |
| Gloucester Township | B | 0.8 | 11.7 |
| Vineland | D | 4.3 | 25.2 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Union Township’s population (63,675), 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 Union Township. 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 Union Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (63,958 in 2025); our figure for Union Township is 63,675 (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 Union Township
Is Union Township, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Union Township reports more crime per resident than 54% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #249 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 0.7 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 Union Township?
0.7 violent and 17.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New Jersey reports 2.1 and 13.7; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Union Township in 2025?
Union Township’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 1.6 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Union Township safer than Hillside Township?
Hillside Township reports more crime per resident than Union Township: Hillside Township grades C− for safety and Union Township B−. Hillside Township’s police reported 2.2 violent and 28.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Union Township?
Union Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Union Township”. 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 Union Township.
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.