These are New Jersey’s safest small cities

Plenty of people in the Garden State can sleep well at night, knowing that New Jersey is home to some of the safest small cities and towns in America, according to a new study. The survey by Moneygeek.com focused on municipalities with populations between 30,000 and 100,000 and used FBI crime statistics which include murder, rape and aggravated assault as well as burglaries and car theft.

They then used the average costs of those crimes (such as loss of property, services for victims and policing and corrections) to determine which cities had the lowest per capita cost of crime. New Jersey was well represented, placing eight towns in the top 25.

The cities that made the cut, with their national rank are:

6. Marlboro
7. Bridgewater
8. Fair Lawn
10. Monroe (Middlesex County)
17. Middletown
20. South Brunswick
21. Princeton
25. Hillsborough

According to the analysis, Marlboro had a per capita crime cost of $61 based on a violent crime rate of 22.6 and a property crime rate of 685 (per 100,000 people). Bridgewater and Fair Lawn were right behind at a per capita crime cost of $62; Monroe’s was $67, Middletown’s was $77, South Brunswick had an $80 cost, Princeton’s was $82 and Hillsborough’s was $90.

The top 5 in the nation are: 1. Franklin, MA; 2. Shrewsbury, MA; 3. Carmel Town, NY; 4. Northampton, PA; and 5. Yorktown, NY.

Camden was the fifth most dangerous small city in the U.S. (per capita crime cost of $5,598) and Atlantic City was 13th at $4,125.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.