Ten Safest Cities in Massachusetts Ranked

Massachusetts is statistically one of the safest states in the county, coming in at number seven in a ranking by U.S. News and World Reports. In fact, New England as a whole reported the lowest number of instances of violent crime and property crime per year.

So what is the safest city in the Bay State? AdvisorSmith analyzed crime data published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to calculate a crime score for the different communities by adjusting the level of reported crime by its severity, as well as the population level in each city.

Here's the top ten for Massachusetts based on three groups: Large, medium, and small communities.

Large Communities

1. Newton
2. Brookline
3. Waltham
4. Medford
5. Methuen
6. Peabody
7. Somerville
8. Weymouth
9. Malden
10. Taunton

Out of the 26 large cities studied by the business insurance resource website, Newton was found to be the safest with 2.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 5.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

Midsized Communities: 

1. Hopkinton
2. Norfolk
3. Franklin
4. Clinton
5. Holden
6. Shrewsbury
7. Milton
8. Westford
9. Medway
10. Southborough

Hopkinton was named the safest midsize community in Massachusetts following an analysis of 153 towns and cities with 10,000 to 50,000 residents. The town reportedly had 1.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 1.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

Small Communities:

1. Boxford
2. Ashby
3. Wenham
4. Groveland
5. Hamilton
6. Dover
7. Hampden
8. Merrimac
9. Stow
10. Oakham

AdvisorSmith also looked at 105 communities with under 10,000 residents and found that Boxford ranked the safest with .5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 3.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents.