New Jersey ranks sixth nationally for lowest family violence during Thanksgiving month
NEW JERSEY – A new analysis finds that New Jersey has one of the lowest levels of family-related violence in the nation during the month of November, ranking sixth among all U.S. states.
The report, released by Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, examined five years of FBI Crime Data Explorer statistics, focusing on aggravated assaults and aggravated assaults committed by “other family members” during each November from 2020 to 2024. Researchers converted those annual incident totals into rates per 100,000 residents and averaged the five-year figures to establish a “typical November” measure for each state.
New Jersey recorded just 0.11 family-related aggravated assaults per 100,000 residents, placing it among the safest states during the Thanksgiving season. The state’s overall aggravated assault rate for November averaged 10.28 per 100,000.
A spokesperson for Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers said the findings reinforce the importance of understanding how holiday-season pressures affect households.
“While the holiday season brings families together, it can also coincide with heightened stress. The data shows clear geographic differences in family-related violence, and states like New Jersey, which reports the lowest rates in the country, help illustrate what safer holiday periods can look like,” the spokesperson said.
“The state’s consistently low levels of family-related aggravated assaults suggest that reduced holiday-season violence is achievable. Understanding the factors that contribute to these lower figures may offer useful insights for states experiencing higher risks.”
“With Thanksgiving 2025 approaching, these findings give communities and policymakers an opportunity to prepare thoughtfully. Strengthening support systems can help ensure that holiday gatherings remain safe and stable for families across all states.”
Researchers emphasized that the analysis reflects only reported crimes and only those occurring in November. They cautioned that the results should be viewed as an indicator of relative risk rather than a prediction for the 2025 holiday.
The study evaluated how frequently serious incidents spike in November, when stress, travel and family gatherings can overlap. States were ranked solely on their average rate of family-perpetrated aggravated assaults, with overall aggravated assault figures included for context.
