The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Cambridge, MA
Cambridge is the fourth-largest city in Massachusetts, with 116,900 residents in Middlesex County, about 3 miles west of downtown Boston · Updated November 2026
Is Cambridge, MA safe?
Yes, crime in Cambridge is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Cambridge sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 45% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Cambridge run from A+ to C, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 809 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
45% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Cambridge as a whole, and 55% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Cambridge scores 809.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Cambridge, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Cambridge, 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 in Cambridge
One part of Cambridge stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Cambridgeport & Riverside, in south Cambridge, run at more than triple the rate in the rest of the city.
One weak spot: aggravated assault. It grades B+ in Cambridge, worse than in the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live, against A for violent crime as a whole.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Cambridge, 64% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Cambridge
Low crime is the norm across Cambridge: 95% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Cambridge run from A+ to C; 12% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
95%
A or B 95%C 5%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
6Cambridgeport & Riverside, southThefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Cambridge.B681
Neighborhood areas of Cambridge, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Cambridge?
Reported crime in Cambridge has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 54% and property crime up 58%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.8 to 4.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 17 to 26 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 10%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
CambridgeUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Cambridge. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Cambridge
Violent, US
Property, Cambridge
Property, US
2016
-9%
+4%
+23%
+15%
2017
-5%
+4%
+4%
+12%
2018
+3%
+0%
+5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+3%
+4%
+12%
-8%
2021
+13%
+6%
+21%
-10%
2022
+43%
+5%
+33%
-6%
2023
+70%
+2%
+43%
-7%
2024
+54%
-4%
+58%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Cambridge
CrimeGrade™ estimates Cambridge has about 44 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 17% more than the US as a whole and 63% more than Massachusetts.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft makes up about 54% of crime reported in Cambridge. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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 crime happens in Cambridge
Cambridge has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Cambridge, 67% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (67%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (54%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (64%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Streets and sidewalks (38%)
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.
How Cambridge compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Cambridge, 5 have less crime. Belmont and Brookline have the least.
Two things set Cambridge apart: it has a Walk Grade of A (85 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 134 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run high here.
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 and assault. 86% of residents here live in walkable areas.A (85 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 98% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.134 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Cambridge: C (40 of 100).41 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 96% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.92% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 96% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 93% of US city residents
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
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 crime costs Cambridge
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Cambridge about $941 a year per household, 22% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $46 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $112 million a year, or $962 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$750,000
$6
Rape
$2.4 million
$21
Robbery
$3.3 million
$28
Assault
$18 million
$151
Burglary
$2.5 million
$22
Theft
$14 million
$120
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$13
Arson
$280,000
$2
Vandalism
$3.4 million
$29
Total
$46 million
$393
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Cambridge means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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
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.
Schools in Cambridge, MA average a SchoolGrade of B+: 50% of students test proficient, against 45% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Cambridge on SchoolGrade
