State crime profile · 2024

Massachusetts Crime Rates: Safest & Most Dangerous Cities

Crime data for 318 cities and 0 counties in Massachusetts (MA), ranked safest to most dangerous from 422 reporting agencies.

308.8
Violent / 100K
1,101.2
Property / 100K
318
Cities

The verdict

Massachusetts's 308.8 violent crimes per 100,000 runs 12% below the U.S. average, making it near the national middle.

308.8
violent crimes per 100K
-12%
vs. the U.S. average
26th
safest of 51 states & DC
1,101.2
property crimes per 100K

How safe is Massachusetts? FBI UCR data snapshot

Massachusetts (MA) reported 22,034 violent crimes and 78,587 property crimes in 2024, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program submissions from 422 law enforcement agencies. That translates to a statewide violent crime rate of 308.8 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1101.2 per 100,000 against a reporting population of 7,136,171. The PlainCrime dataset indexes 318 Massachusetts cities and 0 counties, each with their own detail pages and local crime figures drawn from FBI UCR Tables 8 and 10.

Within the statewide violent crime total, aggravated assault accounted for 0 incidents, robbery 0, murder and non-negligent manslaughter 0, and rape 0. Property crime splits across larceny-theft (0), burglary (0), motor vehicle theft (0), and arson (0).

Across 11 years of state-level UCR history (2014–2024), the violent crime rate moved from 385.2 to 308.8 per 100,000, a decline of 19.8%. City-level detail pages within Massachusetts include safety grades (A+ to F), benchmarks against national averages, per-capita risk estimates, and multi-year trend tables for users comparing specific jurisdictions. All figures above are drawn from FBI UCR 2024 submissions; reporting completeness varies by agency, and the FBI periodically restates prior-year figures as late submissions arrive.

State figures roll up the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) submissions from local and county agencies across the state, then express them per 100,000 residents so one state can be compared with another. Statewide averages hide a great deal of variation: a handful of large cities often account for much of a state's reported violent crime, while most of its land area and population live with markedly lower rates. Reporting completeness also differs between states, so a year-over-year change can reflect which agencies filed data as much as any real shift on the ground. Read a state number as the broad backdrop, then drill into the city and county pages for the local detail that actually shapes day-to-day decisions.

Violent Crime Rate
308.8/100K
Property Crime Rate
1101.2/100K
Population
7,136,171
Data Year
2024

How Massachusetts ranks nationally

Massachusetts vs. every U.S. state

Violent crime per 100,000 residents, FBI UCR 2024. Lower is safer.

309 49th percentile lower than 49% of 51 U.S. states

0–100: 0 U.S. states (0%). Below this entry. 100–200: 6 U.S. states (12%). Below this entry. 200–300: 18 U.S. states (35%). Below this entry. 300–400: 10 U.S. states (20%). This entry sits in this band. 400–500: 12 U.S. states (24%). Above this entry. 500–600: 1 U.S. states (2%). Above this entry. 600–700: 2 U.S. states (4%). Above this entry. 700–800: 1 U.S. states (2%). Above this entry. 800–900: 0 U.S. states (0%). Above this entry. 900–1,000: 0 U.S. states (0%). Above this entry. 1,000–1,100: 1 U.S. states (2%). Above this entry. 1,100+: 0 U.S. states (0%). Above this entry. MA 0 1,100+ every state & DC, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band of values; taller bars hold more U.S. states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · 2024

Safest Cities

Top 50 by lowest violent crime rate

Most Dangerous Cities

Top 50 by highest violent crime rate

Crime Trends

Multi-year charts & analysis

Crime Trends

Year Population Violent Crime Rate Property Crime Rate
2024 7,136,171 22,034 308.8 78,587 1101.2
2023 7,001,399 22,789 325.5 80,058 1143.5
2022 6,981,974 22,652 324.4 75,583 1082.5
2021 6,984,723 21,042 301.3 70,259 1005.9
2020 6,893,574 21,358 309.8 73,243 1062.5
2019 6,892,503 22,524 326.8 80,868 1173.3
2018 6,902,149 23,269 337.1 87,035 1261
2017 6,859,819 24,230 353.2 97,462 1420.8
2016 6,811,779 25,429 373.3 104,362 1532.1
2015 6,794,422 25,836 380.3 111,951 1647.7
2014 6,745,408 25,985 385.2 123,084 1824.7

Cities in Massachusetts

Safest cities in Massachusetts

Cities with 25,000+ residents, lowest violent crime per 100,000, FBI UCR 2024. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K

What this shows Worcester is the safest sizeable city in Massachusetts, at 16.5 violent crimes per 100,000.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024

Highest violent-crime cities in Massachusetts

Cities with 25,000+ residents, highest violent crime per 100,000, FBI UCR 2024. Hover a bar for the exact rate.

/100K

What this shows Holyoke reports the highest big-city violent-crime rate in Massachusetts, at 1,041 per 100,000.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024
Massachusetts's largest cities — violent vs. property crime. X axis violent crime per 100K, Y axis property crime per 100K, split by the national averages. 14 cities; the anchor city is ringed. Massachusetts's largest cities — violent vs. property crime SAFEST HIGHEST CRIME 15 963 Violent crime per 100K → 0 3,062 Property crime per 100K → Boston: 628 violent · 2,022 property per 100K · grade F Boston Worcester: 17 violent · 0 property per 100K · grade A+ Worcester Springfield: 891 violent · 2,836 property per 100K · grade F Springfield Cambridge: 437 violent · 2,644 property per 100K · grade D Cambridge Lowell: 533 violent · 1,663 property per 100K · grade D Brockton: 599 violent · 1,346 property per 100K · grade D Quincy: 335 violent · 1,333 property per 100K · grade C Lynn: 575 violent · 1,171 property per 100K · grade D New Bedford: 353 violent · 1,359 property per 100K · grade C Fall River: 743 violent · 1,392 property per 100K · grade F Newton: 49 violent · 599 property per 100K · grade A+ Lawrence: 440 violent · 999 property per 100K · grade C Somerville: 221 violent · 1,699 property per 100K · grade B Framingham: 326 violent · 1,054 property per 100K · grade C Safety grade A / B C D / F
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are Massachusetts's statewide averages · the four largest cities are labeled
City Population Violent / 100K Grade
Boston 659,049 627.9 F
Worcester 212,425 16.5 A+
Springfield 155,491 891.4 F
Cambridge 120,447 436.7 D
Lowell 116,062 532.5 D
Brockton 106,650 599.2 D
Quincy 103,550 335.1 C
Lynn 103,200 574.6 D
New Bedford 102,491 353.2 C
Fall River 95,573 742.9 F
Newton 89,935 48.9 A+
Lawrence 89,600 439.7 C
Somerville 81,766 221.4 B
Framingham 73,123 325.5 C
Haverhill 68,602 411.1 C
Plymouth 68,195 322.6 B
Malden 66,046 292.2 B
Waltham 65,488 252 B
Brookline 64,122 99.8 A
Taunton 61,874 447.7 C
Weymouth 60,802 223.7 B
Medford 59,601 179.5 B
Revere 57,779 444.8 C
Chicopee 55,770 566.6 D
Peabody 54,964 254.7 B
Methuen 54,623 175.8 A
Everett 51,744 347.9 C
Barnstable 50,928 410.4 C
Attleboro 47,594 220.6 B
Arlington 46,956 55.4 A+
Amherst 46,304 159.8 A
Salem 45,955 152.3 B
Leominster 44,407 484.2 C
Beverly 43,024 167.3 A
Pittsfield 42,835 511.3 D
Woburn 42,716 215.4 B
Billerica 42,332 101.6 A
Fitchburg 42,332 486.6 C
Marlborough 41,785 421.2 C
Westfield 41,270 191.4 B
Shrewsbury 39,837 30.1 A+
Braintree 39,018 284.5 B
Chelsea 38,307 978.9 F
Holyoke 38,232 1,041 F
Andover 37,152 94.2 A
Natick 37,073 213.1 B
Chelmsford 36,795 122.3 A
Watertown 35,885 153.3 B
Randolph 34,992 240.1 B
Dartmouth 34,792 250.1 B
Lexington 34,350 52.4 A+
Falmouth 33,877 283.4 B
Franklin 33,716 94.9 A
Dracut 32,821 149.3 A
Needham 32,779 51.9 A
North Andover 32,474 138.6 A
Wellesley 31,973 46.9 A+
Tewksbury 31,827 254.5 B
Norwood 31,704 167.2 A
North Attleboro 31,565 95 A
Milford 30,799 285.7 B
Gloucester 30,599 277.8 B
Northampton 30,108 445.1 C
Melrose 29,784 100.7 A
Bridgewater 29,465 74.7 A+
Stoughton 29,410 258.4 B
Saugus 29,180 250.2 B
Agawam 28,921 287 B
West Springfield 28,898 415.3 D
Milton 28,832 52 A+
Wakefield 28,594 174.9 A
Danvers 28,375 137.4 B
Belmont 27,280 51.3 A
Burlington 27,124 224.9 B
Walpole 26,268 133.2 A
Marshfield 26,238 144.8 A
Easton 25,941 146.5 A
Reading 25,871 38.7 A+
Yarmouth 25,616 296.7 B
Dedham 25,355 272.1 B
Canton 25,181 289.9 B
Middleboro 25,046 427.2 C
Westford 24,946 68.1 A+
Hingham 24,620 125.9 A
Acton 24,506 65.3 A+
Mansfield 24,311 115.2 A
Wareham 23,609 292.3 B
Wilmington 23,535 165.7 A
Winchester 23,238 17.2 A+
Stoneham 23,173 151 A
Westborough 22,591 225.8 B
Ludlow 21,304 173.7 A
Gardner 21,288 328.8 B
Bourne 21,124 274.6 B
Sandwich 20,931 157.7 A
Marblehead 20,645 145.3 A
Grafton 20,464 68.4 A+
Holden 20,322 54.1 A+
Hudson 20,237 158.1 A
Hopkinton 20,171 84.3 A
Showing the 100 largest of 318 reporting cities. Browse all 318 cities → Or see the safest and most dangerous rankings.

Nearby States

Compare Massachusetts with neighboring states, or use the compare tool for side-by-side jurisdiction benchmarking.

Maine
ME
Maryland
MD
Michigan
MI
Minnesota
MN
Mississippi
MS

Explore Massachusetts crime data

Safest cities → Most dangerous cities → Crime trends → National rankings → Crime grades → Methodology →

Primary source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, Crime in the United States annual release. State-level trends cross-check against the FBI Crime Data Explorer (CDE) API.

Population figures for rate calculations reference U.S. Census Bureau estimates where FBI-reported populations are unavailable. Verify with Census.gov QuickFacts.

Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Using PlainCrime rankings responsibly

Crime rankings are most useful when they sit alongside other community-quality signals, school performance, housing affordability, employment, and access to healthcare. A safer-than-average violent-crime rate in a small commuter suburb does not by itself make a city a better place to live; it is one data point among many. Likewise, a higher-than-average rate in a dense urban center may reflect that residents and visitors interact with police more often, not that the city is necessarily unsafe for its residents. We provide cross-links from each city profile to neighboring jurisdictions, state averages, and national benchmarks so you can read each number in context rather than in isolation.

For news outlets, researchers, and concerned residents who cite our rankings, the most defensible approach is to quote the per-100,000 rate, the reporting year, and the source agency in the same sentence. Avoid framing crime statistics as predictive, UCR data describes what was reported in a past year, not what will happen tomorrow. Where possible, pair our rankings with longitudinal trend data on the relevant city's profile page to show whether the rate is moving up, holding steady, or falling year over year.