Every city has safe neighborhoods and dangerous neighborhhods. We believe you should know which neighborhoods in Boston are the safest before you move.
Every year, more than 30 million Americans move. Sometimes, its for a job, other times its to escape the big city. But no matter where you move, you want a neighborhood thats family friendly, clean, and most importantly, safe.
Weve analyzed the FBI crime reports data on violent and property crimes for every single neighborhood in Boston. Then, we calculated your chances of being the victim of a crime in each one.
What Boston neighborhoods can you leave your doors unlocked at night? Heres the list.
Which neighborhood is the safest in Boston in 2024? That would be West Roxbury. Thats according to the most recent FBI crime data, which takes into account everything from thefts and robberies to assaults and murders.
If you dont see a neighborhood youre looking for in our top , scroll down to the bottom, where we have all Boston neighborhoods listed in order from safest to most dangerous.
For more Massachusetts reading, check out:
- Safest Cities To Live In America
- Safest States To Live In America
- Worst neighborhoods in Boston
- Best neighborhoods to live in Boston.
Table Of Contents: Top 5 | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 5 Safest Neighborhoods To Live In Boston For 2024
/10
Population: 33,915
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 204
Property Crime Per 100k: 666
More on West Roxbury: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 31,348
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 349
Property Crime Per 100k: 992
More on Roslindale: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 67,713
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 321
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,232
More on Allston-Brighton: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 45,902
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 418
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,124
More on East Boston: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 38,280
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 378
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,416
More on Fenway-Kenmore: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Safest Boston Hoods In 2024
You can ask people which neighborhoods are the safest, or you can look at the unbiased raw data. We choose data.
Instead of relying on speculation and opinion, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the numbers from the FBI’s most recent crime report for every neighborhood in Boston.
To be more specific, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. We then ran an analysis to calculate each neighborhood’s property and violent crimes per capita. We used the following criteria:
- Total Crimes Per Capita
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 16 in each category, where 1 was the safest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a safe neighborhood index.
Finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest safest neighborhood index the “Safest City Neighborhood In Boston.” We’re lookin’ at you, West Roxbury.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the safest neighborhoods in Boston.
Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from safest to most expensive.
Summary: The Safest Places In Boston
Looking at the data, you can tell that West Roxbury is as safe as they come, according to science and data.
The safest neighborhoods in Boston are West Roxbury, Roslindale, Allston-Brighton, East Boston, Fenway-Kenmore, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Charlestown, South Boston, and Mattapan.
But as most Massachusetts residents would agree, almost every place here has its safe and not safe parts. So make sure you’re informed ahead of time.
The most dangerous neighborhoods in Boston are Central, Roxbury, South End, Back Bay-Beacon Hill, and North Dorchester.
We ranked the neighborhoods from safest to most dangerous in the chart below.
For more Massachusetts reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Massachusetts
- Cheapest Places To Live In Massachusetts
- Most Dangerous Cities In Massachusetts
- Richest Cities In Massachusetts
- Safest Places In Massachusetts
- Worst Places To Live In Massachusetts
Detailed List Of The Safest Neighborhoods To Live In Boston For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Crime Per 100K |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Roxbury | 870 |
| 2 | Roslindale | 1,341 |
| 3 | Allston-Brighton | 1,553 |
| 4 | East Boston | 1,542 |
| 5 | Fenway-Kenmore | 1,794 |
| 6 | Hyde Park | 1,759 |
| 7 | Jamaica Plain | 1,852 |
| 8 | Charlestown | 1,947 |
| 9 | South Boston | 1,917 |
| 10 | Mattapan | 3,238 |
| 11 | South Dorchester | 3,281 |
| 12 | North Dorchester | 3,491 |
| 13 | Back Bay-Beacon Hill | 3,800 |
| 14 | South End | 3,658 |
| 15 | Roxbury | 4,555 |
| 16 | Central | 5,923 |