Watchung reports less violent crime than most U.S. towns, but more property crime
In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Watchung at C− (#317 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey): more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. Year on year, 0.4 violent crime and 38.7 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 2.1 and 13.7 in the rest of New Jersey. Each of the 5 towns on its borders with figures records 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 Watchung
5 of the 5 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 New Jersey towns on Watchung’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Warren Township (A), Berkeley Heights Township (A), Scotch Plains Township (A−), Green Brook Township (A−), North Plainfield (C+). Plainfield reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Neighbors ↓
A job center
Watchung has 4,784 jobs based in town for 6,583 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Watchung’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Watchung’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Watchung | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Watchung’s police reported 8 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.4 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 Watchung 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 | Watchung property | Rest of New Jersey property | Watchung violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 44.7 | 13.8 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 37.4 | 14.7 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 42.0 | 14.0 | 0.2 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 36.8 | 12.6 | 0.6 | 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.
249 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 245 property, as reported to the FBI by Watchung’s police.
Five people died in crashes on Watchung’s roads in 2019–2023
Watchung had 5 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died; 1 was a pedestrian. Most of these deaths (4 of 5) were on an Interstate passing through, so they say more about through-traffic than about the town’s own streets.
That is more than 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 Watchung’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Watchung’s own rate (15.4) 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.
Watchung and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watchung | C− | 0.4 | 38.7 |
| Berkeley Heights Township | A | 0.4 | 5.1 |
| Scotch Plains Township | A− | 0.3 | 5.7 |
| Green Brook Township | A− | 0.6 | 6.2 |
| Plainfield | — | — | — |
| North Plainfield | C+ | 1.7 | 14.7 |
| Warren Township | A | 0.1 | 4.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Plainfield reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watchung | C− | 0.4 | 38.7 |
| Rockaway | A+ | 0.1 | 3.3 |
| Old Tappan | A | 0.4 | 2.5 |
| Oceanport | A | 0.5 | 4.6 |
| Morris Plains | B+ | 0.2 | 10.6 |
| Eastampton Township | B | 1.5 | 7.4 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to Watchung’s population (6,583), 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 Watchung. 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 Watchung’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (6,662 in 2025); our figure for Watchung is 6,583 (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 Watchung
Is Watchung, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Watchung reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #317 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 0.4 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 Watchung?
0.4 violent and 38.7 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.
Is Watchung safer than Berkeley Heights Township?
Berkeley Heights Township reports less crime per resident than Watchung: Berkeley Heights Township grades A for safety and Watchung C−. Berkeley Heights Township’s police reported 0.4 violent and 5.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Watchung?
Watchung’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Watchung”. 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 Watchung.
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.