Waterfront is a neighborhood of 3,980 residents in Boston, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Waterfront in Boston safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Waterfront is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Waterfront sits near the middle: 42% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 58% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B+. Boston as a whole grades B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Waterfront run from A to D, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 793 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
42% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Waterfront as a whole, and 58% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Waterfront scores 793.
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 Waterfront, Boston, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Waterfront in Boston, 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 Waterfront
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Boston as a whole, 52% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Aggravated assaults run high. Waterfront has aggravated assaults at about triple the US rate: 7.6 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Waterfront
CrimeGrade™ estimates Waterfront has about 86 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and 36% more than Boston as a whole.
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 Waterfront is assault, about 44% 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 Boston
The Boston Police Department polices Waterfront; these figures cover Boston as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Boston as a whole, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (43%)
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 Waterfront compares with nearby neighborhoods
Waterfront has less crime than 9 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods; only East Cambridge has less.
Two things set Waterfront apart: it has 574 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 6.5 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that 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.574 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.6.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 78% of residents here live in walkable areas.A- (77 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 82% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.42.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Waterfront
Crime costs Waterfront about $1,722 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 43% more 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 $9.9 million a year, or $2,499 per resident.
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 Waterfront 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. Waterfront is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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
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 Waterfront, Boston, MA average a SchoolGrade of D+: 35% of students test proficient, against 29% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Waterfront on SchoolGrade
