The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Natick, MA
Natick is a town of 36,400 in Middlesex County, about 16 miles west of downtown Boston · Updated November 2026
Is Natick, MA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Natick: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 76% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 926 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
76% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Natick as a whole, and 24% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Natick scores 926.
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 Natick, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Natick, 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 Natick
Burglaries and simple assaults both run low. In Natick, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.79 burglaries and 3.4 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 9.7 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Natick, 68% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Natick
Every part of Natick where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Natick run from A+ to A-; 92% of residents live in areas with 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 Natick, the southeast side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Is crime going up in Natick?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Natick is up 99%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.0 to 2.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 11 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 37% and property crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
NatickUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Natick. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Natick
Violent, US
Property, Natick
Property, US
2016
+59%
+4%
+31%
+15%
2017
+5%
+4%
+18%
+12%
2018
+51%
+0%
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-16%
+4%
-0%
-8%
2021
+25%
+6%
+11%
-10%
2022
+38%
+5%
+31%
-6%
2023
+50%
+2%
+22%
-7%
2024
+106%
-4%
+6%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Natick
CrimeGrade™ estimates Natick has about 20 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 46% less than the US as a whole and 25% 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 Natick, about 53% 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 Natick
Natick has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Natick, 53% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (53%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (68%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (42%)
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 Natick compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Natick, 7 have less crime. Sherborn and Wayland have the least.
Two things set Natick apart: it has 23.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 2.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. 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, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.23.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 98% 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.2.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 91% 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. 77% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 61% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.63 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 80% 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 Natick: D (14 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 72% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 69% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Natick 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 Natick
Crime costs Natick about $463 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 62% 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 $19 million a year, or $535 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$280,000
$8
Rape
$290,000
$8
Robbery
$120,000
$3
Assault
$3.0 million
$83
Burglary
$260,000
$7
Theft
$2.0 million
$54
Vehicle theft
$190,000
$5
Arson
$44,000
$1
Vandalism
$670,000
$18
Total
$6.8 million
$188
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 Natick 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 Natick, MA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 71% of students test proficient, against 62% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Natick on SchoolGrade
