Essex County, the third-most populous county in Massachusetts, is home to 813,100 residents and includes Lynn and Lawrence · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Essex County?
Property crime in Essex County is a little lower than in most US neighborhoods: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Theft makes up 60% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A, and vehicle theft grades A.
A
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 871 of 1,000Less property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
60% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Essex County as a whole, and 40% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Essex County scores 871.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Essex County, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Essex County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Essex County
Car thefts and arsons both run low. In Essex County, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.77 car thefts and 0.03 arsons a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 0.12 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen in the morning far more often than nationally. In Essex County, 43% of reported thefts from cars happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 23% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Essex County
Low property crime is the norm across Essex County: 89% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 5% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Essex County run from A+ to F.
89%
A or B 89%C 6%D or F 5%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Essex County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is property crime going up in Essex County?
Reported property crime in Essex County has held about steady since 2019, within 10%. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 9.4 to 8.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Essex CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Essex County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Essex County
Property, US
2016
+44%
+15%
2017
+31%
+12%
2018
+7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-21%
-8%
2021
-21%
-10%
2022
-17%
-6%
2023
-14%
-7%
2024
-10%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Essex County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Essex County has about 12 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 48% less than the US as a whole and 23% less than Massachusetts.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Essex County, about 60% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Essex County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Essex County, 2022 to 2024.
In Essex County, 63% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 33% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (63%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (33%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (35%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Essex County and nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Essex County, 6 have less property crime. Merrimack County, NH and Rockingham County, NH have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Essex County. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Essex County is safer than 79% of them.
Empty homes, walkability and transit in Essex County
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Essex County apart: it has 3.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C- (30 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Even so, 62% of residents in Essex County live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary and arson, and they run low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.3.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft.C- (30 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 84% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Essex County: D (15 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 63% of Americans
Show all 6
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.80% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 62% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.41 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 60% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.10.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 53% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Essex County
Property crime costs Essex County about $66 million a year, or $81 per resident and about $213 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$6.7 million
$8
Theft
$31 million
$38
Vehicle theft
$9.6 million
$12
Arson
$650,000
$1
Vandalism
$18 million
$23
Total
$66 million
$81
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
