The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Norwood, MA
Norwood is a town of 31,500 in Norfolk County, about 14 miles southwest of downtown Boston · Updated November 2026
Is Norwood, MA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Norwood: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 73% 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 918 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Norwood as a whole, and 27% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Norwood scores 918.
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 Norwood, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Norwood, 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 Norwood
Car thefts happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Norwood, 48% of reported car thefts happen at stores and businesses, against 10% nationally.
Thefts and simple assaults both run low. In Norwood, each runs at less than half the US rate: 5.7 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 Norwood
Every part of Norwood where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Norwood run from A+ to A; every part of Norwood 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 Norwood, the northwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Norwood?
Reported crime in Norwood has held about steady since 2019: violent crime is up 6% and property crime down 1%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.6 to 1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 7.2 to 7.1 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 16%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
NorwoodUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Norwood. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Norwood
Violent, US
Property, Norwood
Property, US
2016
-33%
+4%
+41%
+15%
2017
-9%
+4%
+39%
+12%
2018
-16%
+0%
+26%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-30%
+4%
+0%
-8%
2021
-17%
+6%
+12%
-10%
2022
-1%
+5%
+16%
-6%
2023
-2%
+2%
+18%
-7%
2024
+6%
-4%
-1%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Norwood
CrimeGrade™ estimates Norwood has about 15 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 59% less than the US as a whole and 42% 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 makes up about 37% of crime reported in Norwood. 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 Norwood
Norwood has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Norwood, 64% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 49% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (64%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Stores and businesses (48%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (51%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (59%)
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 Norwood compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Norwood, 6 have less crime. Sharon and Dover have the least.
Two things set Norwood apart: it has 68 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 3.2% 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.68 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 85% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 84% 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. 65% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (30 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 81% 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.3.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 84% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 64% 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 Norwood: D (17 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 63% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Norwood 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 Norwood
Crime costs Norwood about $397 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 67% 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 $15 million a year, or $467 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$330,000
$10
Rape
$160,000
$5
Robbery
$120,000
$4
Assault
$2.3 million
$73
Burglary
$170,000
$5
Theft
$920,000
$29
Vehicle theft
$570,000
$18
Arson
$22,000
$1
Vandalism
$560,000
$18
Total
$5.2 million
$163
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 Norwood 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 Norwood, MA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 54% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Norwood on SchoolGrade
