The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Wilmington, MA
Wilmington is a town of 24,200 in Middlesex County, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Boston · Updated November 2026
Is Wilmington, MA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Wilmington: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 74% 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 920 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
74% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Wilmington as a whole, and 26% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wilmington scores 920.
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 Wilmington, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wilmington, 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 Wilmington
Burglaries and simple assaults both run low. In Wilmington, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.99 burglaries and 4.3 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Wilmington
Every part of Wilmington where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Wilmington run from A+ to A; every part of Wilmington 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 Wilmington, the north side has the least crime and the northwest side the most.
Is crime going up in Wilmington?
Reported crime in Wilmington has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 20% and property crime up 51%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.4 to 1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 6.6 to 10.0 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 23% and property crime rose 21%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
WilmingtonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Wilmington. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Wilmington
Violent, US
Property, Wilmington
Property, US
2016
+38%
+4%
+15%
+15%
2017
-6%
+4%
+13%
+12%
2018
-34%
+0%
-19%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-2%
+4%
+1%
-8%
2021
-27%
+6%
+8%
-10%
2022
+8%
+5%
+27%
-6%
2023
+56%
+2%
+25%
-7%
2024
+20%
-4%
+51%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Wilmington
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wilmington has about 20 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 47% less than the US as a whole and 27% 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 45% of crime reported in Wilmington. 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 Wilmington
Wilmington has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Wilmington, 52% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (52%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (42%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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 Wilmington compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Wilmington, 7 have less crime. North Reading and Andover have the least.
Two things set Wilmington apart: it has 1.7% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 96 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.1.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.96 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 96% 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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 80% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 83% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 80% 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.77% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 73% 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 Wilmington
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Wilmington about $521 a year per household, 57% 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 $12 million a year, or $498 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$190,000
$8
Rape
$300,000
$12
Robbery
$38,000
$2
Assault
$1.9 million
$77
Burglary
$220,000
$9
Theft
$1.1 million
$46
Vehicle theft
$230,000
$10
Arson
$13,000
$1
Vandalism
$500,000
$20
Total
$4.5 million
$184
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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington, MA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 54% of students test proficient, against 55% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Wilmington on SchoolGrade
