The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Canton, MA
Canton is a town of 24,700 in Norfolk County, about 14 miles south of downtown Boston · Updated November 2026
Is Canton, MA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Canton has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A+ against A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 912 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
71% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Canton as a whole, and 29% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Canton scores 912.
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 Canton, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Canton, 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 Canton
Aggravated assault is the exception. Canton grades A for violent crime, but aggravated assault grades B+, worse than in the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live.
Thefts and simple assaults both run low. In Canton, each runs at less than half the US rate: 5.4 thefts and 3.6 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Canton
Every part of Canton where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Canton run from A+ to A-; every part of Canton has less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Canton, the north side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Is crime going up in Canton?
Reported crime in Canton has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 19% and property crime down 18%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.6 to 2.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 6.6 to 5.4 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 25% and property crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
CantonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Canton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Canton
Violent, US
Property, Canton
Property, US
2016
-6%
+4%
+29%
+15%
2017
+9%
+4%
-2%
+12%
2018
-2%
+0%
-23%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-16%
+4%
-12%
-8%
2021
-15%
+6%
-13%
-10%
2022
+12%
+5%
+4%
-6%
2023
+8%
+2%
+1%
-7%
2024
-19%
-4%
-18%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Canton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Canton has about 17 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 55% less than the US as a whole and 37% less 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Canton, about 40% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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 Canton
Canton has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Homes (48%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Aggravated assault
Homes (53%)
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 Canton compares with nearby cities
Canton has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest cities.
Two things set Canton apart: it has 103 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 2.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.103 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 95% of US city residents
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. 89% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 62% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 82% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 74% 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.86% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 66% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Canton on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Canton
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Canton about $538 a year per household, 55% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $18 million a year, or $725 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$320,000
$13
Rape
$200,000
$8
Robbery
$130,000
$5
Assault
$2.8 million
$114
Burglary
$110,000
$4
Theft
$690,000
$28
Vehicle theft
$240,000
$10
Arson
$30,000
$1
Vandalism
$560,000
$23
Total
$5.1 million
$206
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 Canton 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
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.
Schools in Canton, MA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 52% of students test proficient, against 49% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Canton on SchoolGrade
