Two New Jersey towns named among the safest in the country

There’s a list of the safest small towns in America, and New Jersey placed two in the top ten. Safewise, a security website compiled the ratings, and named New Hanover Township the 7th safest and Matawan the 10th safest.

To arrive at the rankings, Safewise looked at FBI crime data and population numbers for 2019, the latest year available. They looked at towns with populations between 5,000 and 15,000. To rank each city or town, 50% of the score was determined by the number of violent crimes per 1,000, and 50% of the score was determined by the number of property crimes per 1,000.

They also examined poverty rates, median income, and education attainment. This data was used to provide additional insight into any trends or patterns that may correlate to why some cities or states may be more likely to report lower crime numbers than others.

Nationally, there was five way tie for first with Lewisboro Town, NY, Luzerne Township, PA, Sleepy Hollow Village, NY, Thetford Township, MI, and Weiser, ID the safest small towns in America.

Park Ridge, NJ was the 15th safest; all together, New Jersey placed 27 towns on the list, the most of any state.

You might remember that in the company’s rankings of larger cities, New Jersey placed two in the top ten: Bernards Township (#5) and Sparta (#8).

As far as towns to avoid, Emeryville, CA, was the most dangerous small town in the US.

For the complete rankings and a fuller explanation of the methodology, visit the website.

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.