Middletown Named As 17th Safest Town In Nation

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown's reputation as a safe town to live in continues: Middletown was just named as one of the top 25 Safest Small Cities and Towns in America by MoneyGeek.

MoneyGeek released their 2021 list Tuesday. Middletown was No. 17 on the list. Franklin, Massachusetts topped their list, followed by Shrewsbury, MA and Marlboro Township, NJ was actually No. 6, outranking Middletown.

Marlboro was also named by the study as the safest town in New Jersey.

Other New Jersey towns deemed safer than Middletown include Bridgewater, Fair Lawn and Monroe Township.

According to the report, in 2020, Middletown had a 33.7 violent crime rate, and a 541.6 property crime rate, out of the approximate 65,000 people who live in Middletown.

What does this mean? The FBI reports "crime rates" on a per 100,000 people basis. So Middletown's property crime rate of 541.6 is 541.6 property crimes per 100,000 people, and 33 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Property crimes are things such as larceny, robbery, etc. and they happen more frequently than violent crimes. (For context, most cities on MoneyGeek's list have property crime rates above 1,000.)

MoneyGeek focused on towns with populations between 30,000 and 100,000 residents and used the FBI's yearly Uniform Crime Report, which includes violent crimes such as murder, rape and aggravated assault, and property crimes such as burglaries and car theft.

Most of their safest small cities and towns in America are in the Northeast, with the top two in Massachusetts and six of the top ten in New York or New Jersey.

Here is MoneyGeek's 2021 list, again only focusing on towns with 10,000 to 100,000 residents:

MoneyGeek's Safest Small Cities and Towns in America 2021:

1. Franklin, MA

2. Shrewsbury, MA

3. Carmel, NY

4. Northampton Township, PA

5. Yorktown, NY

6. Marlboro Township, NJ

7. Bridgewater Township, NJ

8. Fair Lawn, NJ

9. Parkland, FL

10. Monroe Township, NJ

MoneyGeek's Most Dangerous Small Cities and Towns in America 2021:

1. Gary, IN

2. Pine Bluff, AR

3. Petersburg, VA

4. Chester, PA

5. Camden, NJ

6. Wilmington, DE

7. Danville, IL

8. Meridian, MS

9. Monroe, LA

10. Flint, MI

Be the first to know what's happening in your town. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe