Massachusetts: The Best and Worst Cities for Crime
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July 24, 2024
Even in a geographically small state like Massachusetts, crime is a heavily variable issue, often coming down to the street-by-street level. Indeed, looking at available data for metro areas in Massachusetts and elsewhere underlines this fact.
For example, Boston, one of the biggest metro areas in the country, ranks 218th among the 300-plus metro areas with available data for its overall violent crime rate, while Springfield and Pittsfield both rank higher than that.
Fortunately, none of the state’s metro areas could reasonably be considered as having some of the highest crime rates in the country, according to the FBI’s data.
Massachusetts metro area crime rates per 100,000 people (rank among 300+ metro areas)
| Barnstable Town | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | Pittsfield | Springfield | Worcester | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime (overall) | 261 (225th) | 272 (218th) | 442 (94th) | 454 (87th) | 293 (201st) |
| Murder/non-negligent manslaughter | 2 (279th) | 2 (273rd) | 5 (168th) | 4 (182nd) | 2 (279th) |
| Rape | 35 (220th) | 26 (279th) | 51 (112th) | 48 (135th) | 27 (272nd) |
| Robbery | 11 (284th) | 34 (176th) | 40 (142nd) | 59 (80th) | 27 (217th) |
| Aggravated assault | 213 (198th) | 211 (199th) | 346 (89th) | 343 (90th) | 237 (177th) |
| Property crime (overall) | 711 (312th) | 1029 (292nd) | 1170 (276th) | 1538 (223rd) | 868 (305th) |
| Burglary | 130 (288th) | 120 (295th) | 283 (148th) | 209 (226th) | 144 (279th) |
| Larceny-theft | 552 (311th) | 815 (289th) | 794 (291st) | 1181 (215th) | 644 (307th) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 30 (313th) | 94 (266th) | 93 (268th) | 149 (222nd) | 80 (280th) |
While most of Massachusetts’ big cities have relatively low crime rates when compared to other major cities, a few smaller communities have high rates of both property crime and violent crime. Holyoke, for example, is home to around 38,000 people, yet has the highest rate of property crime and the third-highest rate of violent crime in the state. In an attempt to curb crime, the mayor proposed the hiring of additional law enforcement officers and the installation of more surveillance cameras.1
Or consider a town like Nantucket, which ranked in the top 15 cities for its property crime rates. With a permanent population of just over 11,000, its place on the list is likely due more to its tourism industry, as the population of the town swells to about 80,000 during summer months.2
Statewide Crime Trends in Massachusetts
Only two states have lower property crime rates than Massachusetts, according to the most recent available FBI data — New Hampshire and Idaho. Not only is the property crime rate in Massachusetts one of the lowest in the country, it’s about 45 percent lower than the overall national rate. And while the state’s violent crime rate is closer to the national average, it’s also a bit lower.
Looking at city-level data, many communities in the state, including some of the biggest cities, have lower-than-average rates of both violent crime and property crime.
Property Crime in Massachusetts
When determining property crime rates in Massachusetts, we looked at larceny-theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft incidents.
- The total overall property crime rate in Massachusetts is 1,070 per 100,000 people, which is 45 percent lower than the overall U.S. rate of 1,954 per 100,000, and as mentioned, only two states have lower rates — New Hampshire (1,011 per 100,000) and Idaho (927 per 100,000).
- Larceny continues to be the most common property crime in Massachusetts, as it is everywhere else in the country, with about 828 incidents per 100,000 people, which is the second-lowest rate among all states (only Idaho has a lower larceny rate):
Violent Crime in Massachusetts
Violent crimes include murder/non-negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery, and these incidents are much less common in Massachusetts than property crimes.
- The state’s overall violent crime rate is 322 per 100,000 people, or about 15 percent below the national rate of 381 per 100,000.
- Massachusetts ranks 26th among all states for violent crimes.
- Aggravated assault is the most common type of violent crime in Massachusetts, with a rate of 253 per 100,000 people.
Our data
Our data comes from comprehensive reporting compiled by the FBI and accessed via the Crime Data Explorer website. Property and violent crime state figures were drawn from Table 5 of the 2022 Crime in the U.S. Report. Metropolitan figures were found in Table 6, Crime in the U.S. by Metropolitan Statistical Area. City-level figures were drawn from Table 8, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City. The population figures in that table are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2020.
Limitations: According to the FBI, the data in the publication tables may differ from those released on the Explorer Pages of the CDE. These variations are due to the difference in methodologies between the publication tables and data displayed on the CDE. Please note that crime statistics are not the sole measure of a city’s safety.
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Citations
- Holyoke. (2023). Mayor’s proposed Ezekiel’s Plan / Operation Safe Streets.
https://www.holyoke.org/mayors-proposed-ezekiels-plan-operation-safe-streets - Town & County of Nantucket Massachusetts. (2024). FAQs.
https://www.nantucket-ma.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=289