The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Stoneham, MA
Stoneham is a town of 23,400 in Middlesex County, about 9 miles north of downtown Boston · Updated November 2026
Is Stoneham, MA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Stoneham has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 69% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 906 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
69% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Stoneham as a whole, and 31% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Stoneham scores 906.
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 Stoneham, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Stoneham, 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 Stoneham
Simple assaults and acts of vandalism both run low. In Stoneham, each runs at less than half the US rate: 2.9 simple assaults and 2.2 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 and 5.5 nationally.
Burglaries happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Stoneham, 25% of reported burglaries happen in parking lots and garages, against 3% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Stoneham
Every part of Stoneham where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Stoneham run from A+ to A-; 96% 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 Stoneham, the northwest side has the least crime and the north side the most.
Is crime going up in Stoneham?
Reported violent crime in Stoneham peaked in 2022 and has fallen 33% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 21% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.4 to 1.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 7.3 to 5.8 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 29%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
StonehamUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Stoneham. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Stoneham
Violent, US
Property, Stoneham
Property, US
2016
+0%
+4%
+46%
+15%
2017
-13%
+4%
+19%
+12%
2018
-0%
+0%
+38%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-37%
+4%
-5%
-8%
2021
-6%
+6%
-13%
-10%
2022
+51%
+5%
+12%
-6%
2023
-18%
+2%
+11%
-7%
2024
+1%
-4%
-21%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Stoneham
CrimeGrade™ estimates Stoneham has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 58% 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 is the most common crime in Stoneham, about 44% 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 Stoneham
Stoneham has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (46%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (54%)
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 Stoneham compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Stoneham, 6 have less crime. Winchester and Reading have the least.
Parking lots, night lighting and walkability in Stoneham
Two things set Stoneham apart: it has 0.7 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 4.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 78% 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+ (23 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 68% 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.4.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 70% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.31 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 68% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 65% of US city residents
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 Stoneham
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Stoneham about $373 a year per household, 69% 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 $10 million a year, or $431 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$160,000
$7
Rape
$230,000
$10
Robbery
$62,000
$3
Assault
$1.5 million
$63
Burglary
$290,000
$12
Theft
$810,000
$35
Vehicle theft
$170,000
$7
Arson
$10,000
under $1
Vandalism
$370,000
$16
Total
$3.6 million
$153
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 Stoneham 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 Stoneham, MA average a SchoolGrade of A: 56% of students test proficient, against 54% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Stoneham on SchoolGrade
