The 10 Safest Cities In Massachusetts For 2020

The 10 Safest Cities In Massachusetts For 2020

The first stop on our trip around the safest places to live in Massachusetts takes us to Wayland.

The city of some 13,000 people had the lowest property crime rate in the state and fifth lowest violent crime rate .

Wayland is a town in Middlesex County and Wikipedia names like 20 to 30 people of note who called the town home at point or another. So it packs a big (safe) punch for a city of its size.

Dover is the second safest city in The Bay State for 2020, up a solid five spots from last year. The poverty rate here is low; median incomes are high; and the population is highly educated -- all traits we would expect to result in a violent crime rate that's one of the lowest in the state.

Located about 15 miles southwest of downtown Boston, Dover is a residential town nestled on the south banks of the Charles River where almost all of the residential zoning requires 1-acre or larger. So it's pretty hard to commit crimes when everyone lives so far apart.

Norfolk broke into the top five safest places in Massachusetts for the second time this year -- moving up two spots from last year.

The crime rate is probably so low in town because of the presence of several prisons. When you see that on your drive to work or on the weekend, you realize that stealing a hamburger probably isn't worth the time you'd have to spend in prison for it.

That or people just take pride in living in such a great town.

We suggest you hop, skip, or jump your way to Hopkinton as it's one of the safest places around.

There was virtually no violent crime reported here in the last year, but property crime is only kind of better than average.

The city of 17,000 people is located halfway between Boston and Worcester. The town is best known as the starting point of the Boston Marathon and as the headquarters for the enterprise-oriented Dell EMC.

Groveland may only place fifth on this list, but if violent crime is especially worrisome to you, then Groveland is definitely the place to be. The town had zilch in terms of violence in the last year of available data. Nada. Everyone's too tired from action-packed weekends at Pines Recreation Area to start an underground fight club.

Now if Groveland can improve its property crime numbers (which are, admittedly, already pretty solid), it can definitely work its way up this list.

Groveland is about an hour north of Boston (depending on the I-95 traffic).

Franklin clocks in as the sixth safest city in MA for 2020, down two tics from last year, but still a strong showing.

The city has better than average violent crime rates, but really shines when it comes to property crime rates. The place has such low property crime, if a resident finds a twenty on the ground they probably just bring it to the police station instead of keep it.

Their safety may go back to their founding. The Franklin Public Library is the first public library in America, the original books of which were donated by Benjamin Franklin.

The seventh safest city in Massachusetts is Boxford.

Believe it or not, coming in seventh is actually a bit of tumble for the city as it topped the list last year. There is still basically no violent crime in town, which is the best in the state, but property crime climb a small tick.

Boxford's population is extremely well educated with a good 40% plus of the residents having at least a bachelor's. That probably has something to do with the whole no violent crime thing.

This shrewsberry tastes like Shrewsbury. And everyone knows shrewsberries taste like safety.

Shrewsbury is the largest city on the list and serious better than average property and violent crime rates for a city of its size.

TripAdvisor suggests checking out Ski Ward and Broken Creek Winery. Just remember to stay safe by wearing your helmet and not drinking and driving -- that's the Shrewsbury way to do it.

9. Milton

Milton is an affluent suburb of Boston that frequently appears at the top of lists dedicated to the best places to live in the country. And with 9/10+ ratings in jobs, housing, safety, and education on our snackability scale, it's not hard to see why.

And while Bostonians might feel privileged that Blue Hills Reservation is just a short drive away, it's literally Milton's backyard. Couple that with the fact that this town of over 27,000 experienced just one violent crime and five property crimes a month in the last year of available data, and you've got yourself one sweet place to live.

Well Hopedale might not be at the top of this list, this Worcester County town wasn't even close to being in the running last year -- it was ranked 50th! While Hopedale has middle-of-the-road rankings in both property and violent crime compared to other places in Mass, it's still a much safer than your average American town. Violent crime rates in Hopedale were roughly nine times lower than the national average, and you could count the number of property crimes on your fingers and toes.

However, a word of warning: the town does have a debilitating problem with Chocoholism. But really, who can blame Hopedale residents? When you're the home to Green Mountain Chocolate, it's hard to just say no. Luckily, this hasn't affected the safety in Hopedale.

Where Are The 10 Safest Cities In Massachusetts For 2020?