MIT is a neighborhood of 5,830 residents in Cambridge, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in MIT?
Violent crime in MIT sits near the national middle: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 58% of Americans live. Assaults make up 92% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Cambridge as a whole grades A for violent crime.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 888 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
58% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than MIT as a whole, and 42% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. MIT scores 888.
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.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in MIT in Cambridge, 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 MIT
One weak spot: aggravated assault. It grades B+ in MIT, worse than in the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live, against A for violent crime as a whole.
Violent crime rates and types in MIT
CrimeGrade™ estimates MIT has about 19 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 42% more than the US as a whole and 48% more than Cambridge 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 MIT, about 92% 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 Cambridge
The Cambridge Police Department polices MIT; these figures cover Cambridge as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Cambridge as a whole, 30% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 49% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Streets and sidewalks (38%)
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.
Violent crime in MIT and nearby neighborhoods
MIT has less violent crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set MIT apart: it has 487 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 1.0 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.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.487 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.1.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 81% 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. 55% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C+ (40 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 57% 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 MIT: C- (30 of 100).35 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 81% 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 MIT
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs MIT about $6.9 million a year, or $1,188 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $1.8 million, or $308 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. MIT 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.
