The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Lowell, MA
Lowell is the fifth-largest city in Massachusetts, with 118,400 residents in Middlesex County, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Boston · Updated November 2026
Is Lowell, MA safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B, Lowell has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent and property crime both grade B here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Lowell run from A to D, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 653 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
27% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Lowell as a whole, and 73% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lowell scores 653.
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 Lowell, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lowell, 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 Lowell
Car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Lowell, 61% of reported car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks, against 27% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Lowell
Low crime is the norm across Lowell: 64% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 6% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Lowell run from A to D; 12% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
64%30%
A or B 64%C 30%D or F 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1South Lowell, southeastCar thefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Lowell.B+757
2Highlands, southwestAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Lowell.B+734
3Pawtucketville, northwestAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Lowell.B+728
4Belvidere, eastClose to the rest of Lowell on most crimes.B631
5The Acre, northCar thefts run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Lowell.B-600
6Centralville, northeastThefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Lowell.B-592
7Back Central & Downtown Lowell, centralCar thefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Lowell.C+511
Neighborhood areas of Lowell, 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 Lowell?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Lowell is up 41%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.7 to 5.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 15 to 16 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 21% and property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
LowellUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Lowell. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Lowell
Violent, US
Property, Lowell
Property, US
2016
-6%
+4%
+32%
+15%
2017
-21%
+4%
+31%
+12%
2018
-10%
+0%
+3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-17%
+4%
-6%
-8%
2021
-15%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
+5%
+5%
+11%
-6%
2023
+16%
+2%
+20%
-7%
2024
+40%
-4%
+7%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Lowell
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lowell has about 38 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and 42% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Lowell is assault, about 38% of the total. It also makes up 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 Lowell
Lowell has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Lowell, 51% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 49% of them, against 18% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (51%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Other places (32%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Lowell compares with nearby cities
Lowell has more crime than 8 of its 9 nearest cities. Chelmsford and Billerica have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Lowell apart: it has a Walk Grade of B- (48 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 72% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and assault, 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.B- (48 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 91% 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.72% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 91% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 89% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 82% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 79% 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 Lowell: C- (26 of 100).6 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 75% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Lowell 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 Lowell
Crime costs Lowell about $1,285 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 7% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $53 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 $172 million a year, or $1,457 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$7.6 million
$64
Rape
$550,000
$5
Robbery
$2.1 million
$17
Assault
$24 million
$201
Burglary
$1.6 million
$13
Theft
$7.9 million
$67
Vehicle theft
$3.6 million
$31
Arson
$270,000
$2
Vandalism
$5.4 million
$46
Total
$53 million
$446
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 Lowell 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 Lowell, MA average a SchoolGrade of D+: 34% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Lowell on SchoolGrade
