Central is a neighborhood of 19,700 residents in Boston, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Central?
Central earns an A- for violent crime, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Boston as a whole grades B for violent crime.
A-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 812 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Central as a whole, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Central scores 812.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Central, Boston, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Central 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 about violent crime in Central
Robberies and aggravated assaults both run high. In Central, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 3.5 robberies and 10.7 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.6 nationally.
How Central compares within Boston
Most of Central grades well for violent crime: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Violent crime grades across Central run from A to C+.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Central has less violent crime than 16 of the 20 neighborhoods in Boston. It covers much of the Central, Downtown Crossing, and Dock Square areas.
Is violent crime going up in Boston?
Reported violent crime in Boston as a whole has held about steady since 2019, within 1%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 6.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
BostonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Boston. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Boston
Violent, US
2016
+14%
+4%
2017
+8%
+4%
2018
+2%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+7%
+4%
2021
-2%
+6%
2022
+0%
+5%
2023
-0%
+2%
2024
+0%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Central
CrimeGrade™ estimates Central has about 59 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for Boston as a whole.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Central, about 93% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Boston
The Boston Police Department polices Central; these figures cover Boston as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Boston as a whole, 43% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 43% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
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.
Violent crime in Central and nearby neighborhoods
Central has less violent crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Central apart: it has 860 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 6.2 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more robbery than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.860 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.6.2 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 assault. 92% of residents here live in walkable areas.A+ (91 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 93% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Central: B (59 of 100).121 trips an hourUS: noneHigher 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 violent crime costs Central
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Central about $54 million a year, or $2,722 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $16 million, or $818 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Central 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.
