Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0For violent crime, West Caldwell Township beats 90% of U.S. towns per resident
Overall, West Caldwell Township grades A− for safety (#123 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey): less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. In a usual year, 0.3 violent crime and 8.3 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of New Jersey, 2.1 and 13.8. Among its 4 neighbors with figures, only one 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 West Caldwell Township
1 of the 4 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 6 New Jersey towns on West Caldwell Township’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Caldwell (A), Essex Fells (B), Fairfield Township (B−), East Hanover Township (B−). Roseland reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. North Caldwell reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, closer to the middle
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so West Caldwell Township’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 64% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 76% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A job center
West Caldwell Township has 7,577 jobs based in town for 11,205 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 West Caldwell Township’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 | West Caldwell Township | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
West Caldwell Township’s police reported 11 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.3 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 West Caldwell 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.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | West Caldwell Township property | Rest of New Jersey property | West Caldwell Township violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7.2 | 13.9 | 0.1 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 7.9 | 14.8 | 0.3 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 7.3 | 14.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 9.7 | 12.6 | 0.4 | 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.
113 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 109 property, as reported to the FBI by West Caldwell Township’s police.
No one died in a crash on West Caldwell Township’s roads in 2019–2023
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 West Caldwell Township’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so West Caldwell Township’s own rate (0.0) 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.
West Caldwell Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Caldwell Township | A− | 0.3 | 8.3 |
| Caldwell | A | 0.5 | 3.7 |
| East Hanover Township | B− | 0.2 | 17.6 |
| Roseland | — | — | — |
| Essex Fells | B | 0.0 | 14.9 |
| North Caldwell | — | — | — |
| Fairfield Township | B− | 0.5 | 15.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Roseland reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. North Caldwell reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Caldwell Township | A− | 0.3 | 8.3 |
| Wanaque | A+ | 0.4 | 1.7 |
| Franklin Lakes | A | 0.2 | 3.5 |
| Westwood | A | 0.6 | 3.0 |
| Pompton Lakes | A | 0.5 | 4.7 |
| Beachwood | B+ | 0.8 | 7.8 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to West Caldwell Township’s population (11,205), 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 West Caldwell Township. 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 West Caldwell Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (11,185 in 2025); our figure for West Caldwell Township is 11,205 (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 West Caldwell Township
Is West Caldwell Township, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West Caldwell Township reports less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade and #123 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 0.3 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 West Caldwell Township?
0.3 violent and 8.3 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 West Caldwell Township safer than Caldwell?
Caldwell reports less crime per resident than West Caldwell Township: Caldwell grades A for safety and West Caldwell Township A−. Caldwell’s police reported 0.5 violent and 3.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices West Caldwell Township?
West Caldwell Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West Caldwell Township”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in West Caldwell 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.