West Orange, NJ carries a PlainCrime B safety grade with violent crime 60% below the U.S. average
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, West Orange, NJ shows violent crime at 139.8 per 100,000 residents and property crime at 1,416.6 per 100,000. Violent crime runs 60% below the U.S. average. PlainCrime assigns grade B from those rates. Figures are voluntary agency submissions joined to population denominators; incomplete coverage can move the number.
B safety grade
139.8/100K violent
1416.6/100K property
-60% vs U.S.
The verdict
West Orange earns a B safety grade: violent crime runs 60% below the U.S. average, placing it close to the national middle for violent crime.
B
PlainCrime safety grade
-60%
violent crime vs. U.S. average
60th
percentile of 7,769 U.S. cities
1,416.6
property crimes per 100K
What the 2024 FBI UCR record shows for West Orange, NJ
Comparable rate records
West Orange's closest reported-rate comparisons are in the New Jersey cohort
The nearest comparable 2024 records to West Orange's 139.8 violent-crime rate per 100,000 are South Amboy (139.1), Sea Isle City (141.0), Clayton (141.4), Brick Township (137.3). These are same-year agency submissions that pass the same completeness screen, not a claim that the cities have identical conditions. They make the cohort position above checkable against named records instead of a generic state average.
Position in the state cohort
West Orange sits mid-pack among comparable New Jersey cities
At 139.8 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, West Orange ranks 116 of 417 — above 301 of the 416 other New Jersey cities whose 2024 submission passes this site’s completeness test. That is +105.2% against the cohort median of 68.1. Cities that did not report, or that reported implausibly low totals, are excluded from this cohort rather than counted as low-crime.
2020–2024 direction
The reported violent-crime rate ended the window higher
Across 4 comparable reporting years, the rate moved from 123.8 per 100,000 in 2020 to 139.8 in 2024 (+13.0%). The highest observed value was 196.8 in 2023 and the lowest 123.8 in 2020. Years whose submission failed the completeness test are left out of this comparison rather than plotted as change.
Property counts dominate West Orange's FBI UCR Table 8 municipal row. Per-100,000 rates use the reporting-year population on that row; cities that fail the completeness test stay out of rate rankings. A citywide figure rarely describes any single neighbourhood inside the municipal boundary.
Mid-size municipal totals above are reported offenses, not safety advice for any single block. Reporting completeness still varies by year and agency.
Violent rate moved most (2023→2024)
Violent Crime Rate
-29%
196.8 → 139.8/100K
Property Crime Rate
-8.3%
1545.3 → 1416.6/100K
Property offenses lead West Orange's 2024 record
Offense
Count
Rate /100K
vs US avg
Property Crime
689
1416.6
1711
Larceny-Theft
524
1077.3
-
Burglary
104
213.8
-
Motor Vehicle Theft
61
125.4
-
Arson
1
2.1
-
Violent Crime
68
139.8
352
Aggravated Assault
48
98.7
-
Robbery
17
35
-
Rape
2
4.1
-
Murder
1
2.1
-
West Orange Crime Trend (2020-2024)
The chart omits 2021 rather than drawing an unsupported zero or partial-coverage dip. The table preserves the year and marks the gap.
West Orange property crime rate trend
Lead series · fell across 4 comparable years · FBI UCR
Property crime rate (2024)
1,416.6/100K↓8.3%vs 2023
West Orange violent crime rate trend
Secondary series · rose · 2020-2024 · FBI UCR
Violent crime rate (2024)
139.8/100K↓29%vs 2023
Year
Coverage
Population
Violent Rate
Property Rate
Total Crimes
2020
Comparable
47,666
123.8
1435
743
2021
Insufficient reporting
49,619
-
-
-
2022
Comparable
47,722
178.1
1538.1
819
2023
Comparable
47,758
196.8
1545.3
832
2024
Comparable
48,638
139.8
1416.6
757
How West Orange sits among NJ peers
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are the U.S. national averages
Reporting Agency
West Orange Police Department NIBRS-participating
West Orange's crime figures on this page originate from West Orange Police Department's submission to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
This agency reports via NIBRS, the incident-based system that captures more detail per offense (multiple crimes per incident, victim/offender data) than the older summary counts.
Similar-Size Cities in New Jersey
Crime rates read differently at different scales, so these are the New Jersey cities closest to West Orange in population. Their populations run from 46,946 to 50,487, against 48,638 here. Or use our
side-by-side compare tool
to benchmark two cities directly.
These New Jersey cities report the closest violent-crime rates to West Orange's 139.8/100K (same FBI UCR vintage rules; size peers above are excluded so the two lists stay distinct).
West Orange has a violent crime rate of 139.8 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1416.6 per 100,000, based on 2024 FBI UCR data.
Is West Orange, NJ safe? ▼
West Orange receives a safety grade of B (Above Average), with a safety score of 74/100. The violent crime rate is 60% below the national average and 35% below the New Jersey average.
What is the population of West Orange, NJ? ▼
The reporting population for West Orange is 48,638 as of 2024.
How many crimes were reported in West Orange? ▼
In 2024, West Orange reported 68 violent crimes and 689 property crimes, for a total of 757 reported offenses.
How do West Orange's reported offenses compare with its population? ▼
In 2024, West Orange recorded about one reported offense per 64 residents and one reported violent offense per 715 residents. These ratios count reported offenses, not distinct victims, and are not a person's probability of victimization.
Is crime increasing or decreasing in West Orange? ▼
From 2023 to 2024, West Orange's violent crime rate decreased by 29%, and the property crime rate decreased by 8.3%.
What is the most common crime in West Orange? ▼
The most common crime type in West Orange is larceny-theft, accounting for 69.2% of all reported crimes (524 incidents in 2024).
Mid-size read: West Orange figures are FBI UCR CIUS Table 8 (vintage 2024), population-adjusted per 100,000.
Denominators are the reporting-year population on the municipal row. Incomplete years are dropped from rankings. Confirm at FBI Crime Data Explorer and Census.gov QuickFacts.
Disclaimer (mid-size municipal): figures are informational, not advice. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is the source. Consult a professional before decisions.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program CIUS Table 8 municipal crime rates · 2024 West Orange, NJ rates use the reporting-year population on the municipal row.