The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Middlesex County, MA
Middlesex County, the most populous county in Massachusetts, is home to 1.64 million residents and includes Cambridge and Lowell · Updated November 2026
Is Middlesex County, MA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Middlesex County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 64% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Middlesex County run from A+ to D, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 891 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
64% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Middlesex County as a whole, and 36% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Middlesex County scores 891.
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 Middlesex County, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Middlesex 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 in Middlesex County
Murder is less common here. Middlesex County has about 12 murders a year, a rate a small fraction of the national one.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Middlesex County, 34% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Middlesex County
Most of Middlesex County grades well: 96% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Middlesex County run from A+ to D; 70% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
96%
A or B 96%C 4%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Middlesex County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Lexington area has the least crime and the Lowell and Tewksbury areas the most.
Is crime going up in Middlesex County?
Reported crime in Middlesex County has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 13% and property crime up 12%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.9 to 2.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 9.5 to 11 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Middlesex CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Middlesex County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Middlesex County
Violent, US
Property, Middlesex County
Property, US
2016
-3%
+4%
+23%
+15%
2017
-7%
+4%
+15%
+12%
2018
-4%
+0%
+3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-13%
+4%
-7%
-8%
2021
-11%
+6%
-8%
-10%
2022
+2%
+5%
+7%
-6%
2023
+11%
+2%
+13%
-7%
2024
+13%
-4%
+12%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Middlesex County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Middlesex County has about 20 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 47% less than the US as a whole and 26% 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Middlesex County, about 43% of everything reported, but assault 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 Middlesex County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Middlesex County, 2022 to 2024.
In Middlesex County, 56% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (28%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (34%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (47%)
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 Middlesex County compares with nearby counties
Middlesex County has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Middlesex County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Middlesex County is safer than 93% of them.
Walkability, transit and empty homes in Middlesex County
Two things set Middlesex County apart: it has a Walk Grade of C (34 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 11 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Even so, 59% of residents in Middlesex County live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
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 (34 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 88% of Americans
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 Middlesex County: D+ (19 of 100).11 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.3.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 86% of Americans
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.58 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 85% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.40% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 81% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 66% 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 crime costs Middlesex County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Middlesex County about $526 a year per household, 56% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $329 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 $939 million a year, or $573 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$22 million
$13
Rape
$20 million
$12
Robbery
$12 million
$7
Assault
$132 million
$81
Burglary
$18 million
$11
Theft
$71 million
$43
Vehicle theft
$21 million
$13
Arson
$1.6 million
$1
Vandalism
$33 million
$20
Total
$329 million
$201
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 Middlesex County 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 Middlesex County, MA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 53% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Middlesex County on SchoolGrade
