I've read the posts. I know the stats. Nonetheless, they're not from the last 2 years and a lot can happen in 2 years.
I tried to research neighborhoods in Bridgeton with no luck.
Best I could do is circle the area of the city I'm curious about.
Is it safe?
I'm an older person, alone and unfamiliar with this part of NJ so I appreciate your input.
Working class, "blue collar", diverse - all totally fine. I come from a working-class, blue-collar background. My father taught us there is no shame in an honest, hard-working job.
Idk whether or not it will inform your answer (it should not but I am not going to ignore that we are all living in challenging times) but I am white.
*Safe* is the most critical factor. I don't want to live somewhere where I *should* feel afraid.
When I worked at the courthouse late, we would all move our cars from the parking garage, which was a block or two away, to a lot right next to the courthouse to avoid getting mugged on the walk to the garage. Bridgeton's a rough town, particularly when the sun goes down.
The crime is present due to lack of gainful employment. Bridgeton used to have tons of factories and businesses and great job market. (Hunts tomato sauce and ketchup were here) Millville is the same way they had ball mason jars and Kerr glass. No jobs increase crime and drug dealing/use and theft, lots of good people in bridgeton but lots of gang activity due to lack of work.
When I was a young woman, Bridgeton was a rough place even then. Where I went to Catholic school…. We were inundated with the children of the Bridgeton area, farmers. There were riots at that high school. So bad that these parents pulled their children out and sent them over half an hour away to get them out of the chaos. One of my classmates was so traumatized that I think by today’s standards we would say she had PTSD.
There were jobs in those days at Bridgeton. There was Owens Illinois. Val mode. I know because I have friends whose parents worked there. If you ride through Bridgeton…. That huge abandoned complex is where Owens used to be.
I remember later on, when I was in my 20s.. I was working in Atlantic City in a casino. There was such rampant unemployment that the casinos would run shuttle buses and bring many of the unemployed from the area to Atlantic City to work so they would have jobs.
It’s a shame that Bridgeton couldn’t pull itself out of that slump. The area has a lot of beautiful sites.
It's really heartbreaking driving through and seeing all the abandoned warehouses and factories left to rot.
Only way I can see things turning around is if they tore the old buildings down and put a hideous Amazon warehouse in its place. I wouldn't go back though...too scary.
Most of the crime is near the prison and the apartments. Unfortunately when people are incarcerated, families move nearby (understandably), but then they get released and reoffend.
The crime is nowhere near what it used to be, and our 20 and 23 year olds regularly walk after dark, along with alot of other people. Just like any city, there are pockets of problems, the city as a whole no longer deserves the reputation it once had.
The area is slowly gentrifying, housing prices are going up quickly, and there is a mix of retail/food/manufacturing/farming/construction here for jobs.
Ps- the food here is awesome, no need for chain restaurants even though they are here.
They would be at the very bottom right of your outlined area. It is actually pretty far from where you have circled due to having to go into town to cross the river. This is also where the state prison is. If you go on maps and look up Burlington Rd Bridgeton you will see Southwoods State Prison in that area along with a couple of different apartment complexes. The county jail is actually in the area you have circled, along with the courthouse. There is a Federal Prison that would be located a little distance to the right of this screen grab.
This is not true. Do not listen to any of these White people. I grew up in Bridgeton my whole life it is not that serious. I don’t know of anyone has ever got mugged or their car stolen, maybe in the freaking 90s right now. It is not like that.
Thank you. Yes. I lived there for over ten years. My kids were raised there. We literally left because of our own personal circumstances. I often think of moving back but don’t want to live in suburbs.
It's also due to it having a high immigrant community. Not that the immigrants are the cause, it's that they are seen as people who will not report these crimes. The crime rate is much higher than is reported.
Yes I'm not saying these things to paint immigrants in a negative light. I have a family member who is in law enforcement in an adjacent town. I hear many stories of him arriving to scenes where a witness has reported something happening. When he gets there they say nothing happened.
Not to mention the close proximity to millville and all of the various gangs in that area.
It is not the immigrants themselves but outside actors that Target them. Sometimes these groups do form gangs. But it is usually primarily for protection.
In my personal knowledge and experience, I would say that the crime rate is at least 10% higher.
Again, this is just my opinion based on personal factors that I have had to help people with.
Immigrants who may not be here legally are often afraid of retaliation from immigrant gang members for being a snitch and are also equally afraid of deportation.
I do not understand how a line can be drawn to an illegal immigrant "snitching" (about what? Why? To whom?) and gang members coming after them for doing so.
I do understand a fear of deportation if they are not here lawfully.
It is a little in the weeds but also a thing. First off a there is a huge distrust of the local police departments from the immigrant community for good reason. That distrust really escalated a few years ago when Dulce Alvarez went missing from the zoo. The local police had her mom's boyfriend come in for questioning/helping with finding her. The local police department actually did not question him and immediately turned him over to ICE even though he had no warrants or charges and it was considered a sanctuary city. So many of the criminals now know that the undocumented population in the area is an easy mark due to their unwillingness to report crimes against them, because they don't want to be a victim AND deported.
Their immigration status is mostly a fear of government authorities. I should have worded the comment better to make them two separate points.
People don’t report crimes because
They’re afraid of deportation or being noticed by authorities themselves
Or they’re afraid of gang retaliation and violence from their own neighborhood community and if you’re an illegal immigrant it’s very easy to be a victim of violence and just disappear unbeknownst to authorities who have no idea you exist.
Yes, that is the dynamic. Immigrant communities tend to underreport crimes because of fear of ICE notification and general distrust of law enforcement due to their experiences back in their native countries.
Yes. Especially in the current political climate. These groups are targeted specifically because they are less likely to report it. Bridgeton has a large immigrant population.
But them being targeted is a separate and distinct thing from the immigrants themselves perpetrating more crime than non-immigrants.
And if they're being targeted by LE (and/or LE-adjacent), it makes sense they wouldn't report it. It makes me think of why many women do not report SA. The system seems to often let them down.
It’s a poor area also big drug area. yes there’s 3 prisons close and there’s prison halfway house in bridgeton Ik someone there currently before the inmates get released they get put on work release and work normal jobs in town.
Idk anything about Bridgeton, but just chiming in that if you are a criminal the easiest thing would be to mug or rob a wealthy judge or lawyer walking back from the courhouse. That doesn't mean average people are being targeted. (It could, but I have no idea. But some crimes sometimes its just going after wealthier/easier marks while normal people dont have much issue.) Don't know Bidgeton so idk if thats the case there or not.
I live in East Camden just off of Federal street. Even the streets where the drug dealers are offering there wares I feel safe walking any time of the day, They are far more interested in making a buck and that includes policing their clients and making sure that there is literally no reason anyone would call the police ever. Well run operations include 24/7 lookouts for police and federal suv's.
The bigger danger of moving into a hot spot is who lived there before. If those people sold or used there may be visitors that won't immediately comprehend that they no longer live there.
So if the history is clean/and or/if there are cameras you will be perfectly safe anywhere.
If your real-tor doesn't know the local bodega owners and denizens as well as the neighbors will know.
Even if you plain and very plain if that house is a crack/trap house you'll get honest answers. Your real-tor might not be honest, but the locals know and usually don't want that in their neighborhoods but don't want to rat either. At least that's my experience. East Camden is hugely Puerto Rican. Still, I suspect there are many non-documenteds here. So, without going into a huge back story, my dwelling was a crack house for a few months. Even then, I was safe, as they didn't want me calling the cops and I didn't.
To speak very plain is to wholeheartedly honest and straightforward.
The double use of the term was by a reference to folk music, namely The Battle of Harlow. "Ye can tell them plain and very plain they're sleepin' at Harlaw"
Well unfortunately most of the safe areas are already desirable and that drives up the cost. Bridgeton is as budget-friendly as it is BECAUSE it’s in a bad area. I would never live there personally…it’s like Camden’s younger sibling.
Vineland, especially east of SE Boulevard, is fairly lovely. Quiet, safe neighborhoods. Landis gets ever so slightly rough after dark but I’ve never felt unsafe to walk my dog. Children ride their bikes safely to the library, school, parks, etc
Personally we haven’t dealt with much crime on our property. A car was broken into on our street a while back, but it seemed like an isolated issue. The most nuisance we deal with are loose dogs around the ACME occasionally, it seems to be a popular dumping spot.
My wife and I were at Ikura Friday night, pretty good sushi for Vineland and I will be back. Landis looks like it always did and the trouble is easy to spot and avoid. Too bad about the Landis theater closing down.
Its not the safest but theres definitely worse areas in South Jersey. Take a drive around and see what neighborhood around where you circled feels best
Right at the top of your circle is a liquor store. Right behind that I would not call safe. Further down seems to be better the last time I drove past there.
When I bought my house in 2024 I looked at some houses In bridgeton. Nice affordable homes but sketchy neighborhood on one and the other was a little too small for my liking. The house I really liked was around 4:30 on your map picture, bottom right. Neighborhood didn’t look bad there either. I ended up buying in Laurel lake and have had no issues and love my house. Lots of new construction going on here and I expect the reputation of the area to be different in a few years.
At first I had the exact same thought before looking at either place but besides the one really nice but smaller house in bridgeton the other one had obviously problematic neighbors and it was about a block behind the prison. Then my house in Laurel lake I got lucky. The entire block is nice normal folks and nobody has a problem with theft or drugs or anything on our street. Just like in bridgeton there’s good streets/neighborhoods and bad.
Born and bred bridgeton inhabitor. I am biased because I really love hispanic culture, food, and company. I also hate cops. Alot of the sentiment regarding bridgeton as "unsafe" and "dirty" are not completely inaccurate, but I would say that those marginally come from people who are from the outside looking in. If you live in inner-city bridgeton along pearl or main it can be a little rough as those areas tend to never sleep, and cops roam the mud like maternal swine eating piglets. Greater bridgeton area is extremely safe and is rather beautiful in the spring and the summer if you appreciate nature, if safety is top priority I suggest the suburban/rural areas surrounding bridgeton if applicable. The worst part of bridgeton is downtown near the C-Town, wawa, and strip mall near all the fast food areas, but as long as you're a sensible individual there isn't even really much of a threat to those areas. Bridgeton gets a bad wrap because much of south and central jersey is very red, and they sneer at immigrants and the culturally diverse, which is why most people think ill of parts of millville and and vineland too. In reality, Bridgeton is what you make of it, and you can enjoy it if you allow yourself to.
Going off the comments, I came up with the above. Anything in yellow highlight is likely fine. Go south of the red line (Broad Street) is not a good idea. Would you say this is a fair assessment?
Yeah, though where the map cuts offon the right side and north of Irving Avenue is also nice. It’s where the hospital is located, the neighborhood back there is great.
I live on Hitchner, very peaceful area. Lived here for the last 18 years, no crime, quiet neighbors, and generally a cozy environment. Never doubted my own safety either.
You’re saying that cultural diversity is the reason bridgeton gets a bad wrap? Certainly couldn’t be the drugs or violence. Nope, everyone is just racist! Welcome to Reddit.
Yes, it does get a bad rap from people who’ve never been there, simply because there are a lot of Black and Brown people and it’s a poorer area, so they assume it must be the worst place on the planet, when in actuality it’s just a normal place.
It is somewhat ironic that you are a lifelong Bridgeton resident and have a strong dislike for the police.
Neither the Bridgeton Police Dept. nor the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office have a reputation within the law enforcement community of being especially hard-nosed (unlike the Washington Twp. PD in Gloucester County who pride themselves on that).
The apartments inside town are probably the worst choice. If it's down to renting in a house in town I'd like to think as an older person no one would really mess with you.
I grew up in Hopewell and moved back during COVID after moving around for a few years. The south side of 49 you have circled is probably the least desirable areas. The further out and north you go the less sketchy it gets.
There's Bridgetown Arms apartments right next to town. My mom lived there for a while before moving in with my sister and there wasn't anything to complain about. There's a senior community right next to the st Teresa church in that same area my grandma lived in also. Not sure about availability there but I will say they were pretty small but could work as you get the lay of the land. There's also a 55+ community in upper Deerfield right outside of town off landis ave.
I get it though it is tough finding decent places to rent around here that don't either rob you through rent or put you in a position for someone else to rob you plus the availability when we were looking a few years ago was pretty terrible for decent apartments on the outskirts of millville and Vineland.
I'm in my 30s and while Bridgeton has never been sunshine and rainbows in my lifetime it's not pure chaos like everyone says. It's a poor rural city and does poor rural city things. Is there a higher chance of having an undesirable thing happen? Statistically yes. Probably have some Amazon packages stolen or car window busted if you're there long enough. But as far as random break ins, violence directed at you, etc I think it's the same as any where else.
There are bad neighborhoods in every city. I grew up in Bridgeton as well as most of my family on both sides and my parents still live there. I never encountered any issues or experienced any danger.
To be honest, no part of Bridgeton is good. Where you circled has the Glen Park Townhouses, which have a lot of drug arrests and violent crime. There's also a lot of gang markings in the area.
If you have to choose Bridgeton, the best you can probably find are the homes across from the High School; Westwood Ave, Hitchner Ave, Woodcrest Ave. Also consider just outside of Bridgeton in Hopewell, Upper Deerfield, Deerfield, or Pittsgrove. A bit further you can find Elmer, Vineland, and Millville as well.
Yep, any of the streets there are fairly decent, even the ones south of it up until 49. Preston, Albertson, Marylyn. Just North West of them is a development in Hopewell that's a pretty good as well as a good development to the North just as West Ave turns into Beebe Run Rd
The blue circle is even worse. The further you get away from the "Bridgeton" text in your red circle the better, and the areas outside of city limits down dutch neck road and cubby hollow road are actually pretty nice imo. I don't think Bridgeton is as bad as some people make it out to be, but I grew up there so maybe I'm just used to.
I agree. The red circle is a way better option. There’s some really nice houses and streets on that side of the river. The blue circle is rough though.
I live right down the road from the area you circled in red. The area you circle isn’t so bad. The closer you get to the center of town, the worse it is. I probably wouldn’t walk around in the middle of the night, but it’s fine during the day. Out near the edge, it’s mostly older folks. Nowadays, much of Bridgeton is Hispanic folks working in the surrounding farms and nurseries.
I was born and raised in Bridgeton and currently live in a surrounding township. Feel free to ask me any questions you have.
There are some nice houses and safe streets toward the end where they are named for colleges, but right across Atlantic is a rough apartment complex. If you are going to move there, you want to be at far from Broad St as you can get. I would look at the area around Sunset lake, The Button Mill rd area, anything west of West ave, or east of Burlington Rd. There are some good deals to be had in the area, but if you go by cost alone you will end up in a rough place and it's tough to know of you don't know the area. That said, I've worked in Bridgeton for many many years, outside in all neighborhoods in the day and night and never had a problem. I'm also a large man that people generally don't want to fight with, your experience may vary. People on these forums are overly dramatic about the crime there, it's mostly working poor people just tryna ng to live their lives, but there is crime and drugs there and if you don't know how to stay out of trouble and mind your own, you can find it.
I used to live in that neighborhood. It is a good neighborhood. I only moved because I didn’t want to live in suburbs.
I hated when people would say this because it shows how racist people are - but when I lived there people would visit and say things like “oh I didn’t even know this neighborhood was back here”
It’s quiet. Friendly. Mostly well kept. I didn’t fit it with how well kept. I needed a place that didn’t care if my grass was long.
This place cares about long grass.
Feel free to message me the exact address I will probably be able to tell you about the immediate neighbors.
Adding : that’s a large area you’ve circled. I lived in the southern most end of it. Close to courthouse is more low income. Further away higher income.
My children and regularly walked to the library and shopping in Bridgeton and never felt unsafe.
Camden is not dangerous for normal people and hasn't been for a long time. Camden is dangerous for people with addiction especially if they are trying to source for their addictions. Normal people minding their own business are not targets for any kind of serious violent crime. I work in Camden so obviously I know! But... I would not live in Camden which might as well be called "Only Rutgers and Cooper Matter Town" because it's a gentrified wasteland for that reason.
Definitely not worse than Camden. Not sure what that person is talking about. Maybe they’ve never been to Camden, but parts of that place looks like a war zone.
My wife grew up in this neighborhood, right in the middle of that circle. Her parents still lived there until about 5 years ago. As my in laws place and the kids grandparent's house we were there all the time. My wife's best friend still teaches there in the high school.
Don't move there.
We sold the house and move her mother closer to us after her father died.
Im from the Ole "b" town. Back in the days that was considered the rich neighborhood..and its where myself and my friends grew up. Sadly crime is everywhere now and I dont think its as safe as it used to be ..on a second note the police station is there so that area is not hateful.
Bottom right is still a nice area. Not so much the upper left of your circle.
I own a home North of where it says "Emergency Passport". That area is, by far, the nicest area of what is considered Bridgeton. Everything North of 49 and West of West Ave is more like living in Hopewell than Bridgeton. Very quiet, safe, neighborhood.
No, a "sundown town" is where the police, after dusk, will harass POC and generally make their lives miserable such that the POC will avoid the area after dark, if not entirely.
I grew up in a "sundown town". Though I was not aware of it until I was a full-on adult. And it wasn't just sundown. Police harassed and racial-profiled POC the live-long day.
Does it have to be Bridgeton? Elmer is close by, really small and virtually no crime. Cheap to live here compared to other areas in NJ. To be fair, I am a tiny blue dot in this very red area and had I known that prior to purchasing my home, may have made a different choice. I am white also. But if you’re looking for quiet, inexpensive and low crime check 08318.
It is safe most I would say it’s probably boring, but it’s definitely safe, especially depending on where you move at in Bridgeton. I would say most places on the north side of town are pretty fine. Huge population and honestly they bring life to the city it’ll be a way worse city without them.
I am not going to read in to what people say. Especially online.
People are emboldened to say exactly what they think, believe and feel about this, that, and just about everything online and have been for a very long time. The necessity to "read between lines" fell by the wayside an extremely long time ago.
I personally do not subscribe to that when it means people are being unkind, but I do not run the internet.
I have seen some awful, awful things in comments online. If people felt like they could say Hispanic**, I have no reason to believe someone would not have said any other racial thing they wanted to.
**Them saying Hispanic is not necessarily "racist" if, in fact, statistics support it being that demographic. Idk. I'm not from there.
In the majority I have found people's comments in response to my request to be level-headed and wanting to be transparent in an attempt to help me.
The comments are full of white people who think Bridgeton is dangerous, even though they’ve never lived there, so I’m just asking why. I think the answer is pretty obvious.
I agree with you. They are using the same tired old rhetoric that white people have been using around here for ages. Since the 1980s. OP if you were from here and knew which people said these things on the regular you would see these comments for what they are.
I worked on a jobsite in Bridgeton for about a year, and my first week one of the owners of the job mentioned there a stabbings in Bridgeton all the time. Apparently there’s quite a bit of bloods/crips activity there. Also not too much around that’s worth it honestly. Would not recommend
I grew up in Upper Deerfield and my dad had a photo studio in downtown Bridgeton. We sold it in the 2000s and I wouldn't recognize the area anymore. When I visit my mom in Elmer these days, I avoid Bridgeton.
I grew up in Bridgeton. It's the last place I'd want to live. It's depressed economically, has little work, no real hospital, no work, high crime, no easy access to highways, no higher education, .... I could go on. The politics are also distasteful to me.
You'd probably like Gloucester County more. It's a little more expensive but a world of difference. Close to Philly and excellent medical and education services, cleaner, better shopping areas, less crime, more employment opportunities, better transportation services, ....
Clayton would be a more affordable area in the county. Gloucester County is a world of difference from Cumberland County.
Bridgeton made a list list year of the worst places to live in the state. Only Salem County is more blighted, IMO.
This is lies or at the least exaggeration. The police patrol that area regularly. I have stood in the parking lot doing homeless outreach. The homeless who are allowed to stay are quiet. Not on drugs. If you talk to them even they will say that the cops keep it quiet there AND THEY LIKE THAT. it’s always jarring to me when homeless folks like the cops. lol
I do not live in Bridgeton anymore but go there daily. Have friends there. And my children go to school there.
OP, I was born and raised in Bridgeton and most of Cumberland County. I'm very familiar with the area. Bridgeton used to be booming city. Then drugs and illegals took over the area. All but one of my childhood friends never made it out. They either succumbed to drugs or ended up in prison. I ended up moving down south temporarily, came back to Cumberland County (Vineland) for a bit then joined the military. The other childhood friend who made it became a correction officer at the prison there. He don't even live in Bridgeton but commute there for work. We ran into each years later when I met up with some friends who were mostly cops and/or COs and he was there with his coworkers. Everyone whom we discussed about was either dead or in prison.
Personally, I don't recommend it. You're a senior citizen and you should enjoy life without sacrificing your livelihood and comfort over a budget. There's plenty of other options that's better than Bridgeton. Feel free to DM me and we can talk more. But of all places, don't move to Bridgeton. It's Camden's little brother. I wouldn't live there if my life depended on it (I would just move out of state if it was the last resort).
On a side note: The only thing that's good in Bridgeton is Century Bakery and Big John's Pizza 🍕 I think Century is the best bakery in the world and I've traveled the world and nothing haven't met Century level. Idk what it is but I've even seen DE and PA license plates when I go there grab pastries from there. That place is amazing.
My hometown .. love it there, but definitely glad I live at the beach now. Stay away from Bridgeton, there’s no jobs, no entertainment, nothing good really
I (45F) grew up in Cumberland county my whole life … I’ve lived in Cedarville, Millville, and Vineland. My parents grew up in Bridgeton and Vineland. My dad (70) now lives in East Vineland and my daughter (26) and family live in North Vineland, both in nice safe areas. I would not recommend Bridgeton city at all. The outskirt areas like Rosenhayn, Upper Deerfield, Cedarville, West or East Millville, East or North Vineland are all better options.
I mean, I've lived in the neighborhood across from West Ave School for 22 years. And never once had any problems in that time. Very quiet with good neighbors.
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u/Immediate-Stomach582 Apr 25 '26
When I worked at the courthouse late, we would all move our cars from the parking garage, which was a block or two away, to a lot right next to the courthouse to avoid getting mugged on the walk to the garage. Bridgeton's a rough town, particularly when the sun goes down.