Photo: Hudconja · CC BY-SA 3.0Violent crime per resident is higher in West New York than in 67% of U.S. towns
All 3 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. The rate the grade counts held about level from 2023 to 2025. A Safety Grade of C+ follows from crimes West New York’s police reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #267 of 342 graded towns in New Jersey. Year on year, 2.6 violent crimes and 13.3 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 2.1 and 13.8 in the rest of 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 West New York
3 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 4 New Jersey towns on West New York’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: North Bergen Township (B), Guttenberg (B−), Weehawken Township (B−). Union City reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Neighbors ↓
Among New Jersey towns, lower
New Jersey’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so West New York’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 22% of the 342 New Jersey towns we grade, against 38% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind West New York’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 higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (2.6) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (13.3) 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 | West New York | Rest of New Jersey | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
West New York’s police reported 401 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.6 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 New York 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 2 violent crimes, 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 New York property | Rest of New Jersey property | West New York violent | Rest of New Jersey violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.6 | 13.9 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 12.9 | 14.8 | 2.4 | 2.2 |
| 2024 | 14.6 | 14.0 | 3.0 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 12.5 | 12.6 | 2.4 | 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.
790 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.
125 violent and 665 property, as reported to the FBI by West New York’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on West New York’s roads in 2019–2023
West New York had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 4 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist.
That is fewer than is typical for New Jersey towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of West New York’s size would see about 15 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so West New York’s own rate (2.7) 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.
West New York and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West New York | C+ | 2.6 | 13.3 |
| Guttenberg | B− | 2.3 | 9.0 |
| North Bergen Township | B | 1.6 | 7.5 |
| Union City | — | — | — |
| Weehawken Township | B− | 1.2 | 13.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Union City reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024.
New Jersey towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West New York | C+ | 2.6 | 13.3 |
| Parsippany-Troy Hills Township | B+ | 0.5 | 8.4 |
| East Brunswick Township | B− | 1.1 | 12.4 |
| Bloomfield Township | B− | 1.0 | 14.4 |
| Wayne Township | C+ | 0.9 | 19.1 |
| Perth Amboy | C | 3.4 | 12.7 |
The five graded New Jersey towns closest to West New York’s population (53,192), 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 New York. 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 West New York’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (53,036 in 2025); our figure for West New York is 53,192 (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 New York
Is West New York, NJ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West New York reports more crime per resident than 62% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #267 of 342 in New Jersey. Its police reported 2.6 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 New York?
2.6 violent and 13.3 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.
How many homicides were there in West New York in 2025?
West New York’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is West New York safer than Guttenberg?
Guttenberg reports less crime per resident than West New York: Guttenberg grades B− for safety and West New York C+. Guttenberg’s police reported 2.3 violent and 9.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices West New York?
West New York’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West New York”. 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 West New York.
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.