Every city has safe neighborhoods and dangerous neighborhoods. We believe you should know which neighborhoods in Boston are the safest before you move.
Every year, more than 30 million Americans move. Sometimes, it’s for a job, other times it’s to escape the big city. But no matter where you move, you want a neighborhood that’s family friendly, clean, and most importantly, safe.
We’ve analyzed the FBI crime report’s 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? Here’s the list.
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Massachusetts’s statewide median.
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the safest Boston hoods in 2026
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 2026. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from safest to most dangerous.
The full plate
Detailed list of the safest neighborhoods to live in Boston for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Crime Per 100K |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Roxbury | |
| 2 | East Boston | |
| 3 | Allston-Brighton | |
| 3 | Hyde Park | |
| 5 | Roslindale | |
| 6 | Charlestown | |
| 7 | Jamaica Plain | |
| 8 | Fenway-Kenmore | |
| 8 | South Boston | |
| 10 | Mattapan | |
| 11 | South Dorchester | |
| 12 | North Dorchester | |
| 13 | South End | |
| 14 | Back Bay-Beacon Hill | |
| 14 | Roxbury | |
| 16 | Central |
Source: FBI UCR. All 16 Boston neighborhoods.
Summary
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, East Boston, Allston-Brighton, Hyde Park, Roslindale, Charlestown, Jamaica Plain, Fenway-Kenmore, 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.
We ranked the neighborhoods from safest to most dangerous in the chart below. Not sold on Massachusetts? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Safest Neighborhoods In Boston FAQs
What is the safest neighborhood in Boston?
West Roxbury is the safest neighborhood in Boston for 2026, based on FBI crime data. East Boston and Allston-Brighton are next.
What are the safest neighborhoods in Boston?
The safest neighborhoods in Boston are West Roxbury, East Boston, Allston-Brighton, Hyde Park, Roslindale, Charlestown, Jamaica Plain, Fenway-Kenmore, South Boston, and Mattapan. We ranked all 16 neighborhoods in the city.
How do you measure neighborhood safety?
Neighborhoods are ranked on violent and property crimes per capita, using FBI crime data mapped to each neighborhood. The lowest combined crime rate wins.
Which neighborhood ranked last for safety?
Central posts the highest crime rate of the 16 Boston neighborhoods we scored. Our separate worst neighborhoods in Boston ranking digs into that end of the list.
Does a low crime rate guarantee safety?
No. Crime rates are averages across a whole neighborhood, and conditions change block by block and hour by hour. The numbers tell you where the odds are best, not that anywhere is risk-free.
