Crime rates for Boston, MA

About Boston crime rates

The crime rate in Boston is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 41 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Boston is 1 in 24. Based on FBI crime data, Boston is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Massachusetts, Boston has a crime rate that is higher than 94% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.

However, compared to other communities of similar population size, Boston has a crime rate that is noticeably lower than the average. This means that for comparably sized cities all across America, Boston is actually safer than most according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis of FBI crime data.

The crime data that NeighborhoodScout used for this analysis are the seven offenses from the uniform crime reports, collected by the FBI from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, and include both violent and property crimes, combined.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Boston does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Boston.

For Boston, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included forcible rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Boston is one in 113.

Significantly, based on the number of murders reported by the FBI and the number of residents living in the city, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that Boston experiences one of the higher murder rates in the nation when compared with cities and towns for all sizes of population, from the largest to the smallest.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Boston's rate for property crime is 33 per one thousand population. This makes Boston a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Boston is one in 31.

Importantly, we found that Boston has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the nation according to our analysis of FBI crime data. This is compared to communities of all sizes, from the smallest to the largest. In fact, your chance of getting your car stolen if you live in Boston is one in 328.