The 10 Safest Boston, MA Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Boston are the safest places to live.

We analyzed every possible crime metric to determine which neighborhoods in Boston are the safest.

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.

In which Boston neighborhoods can you leave your doors unlocked at night? Heres the list. For a more detailed breakdown for each neighborhood, keep reading.

The Safest Neighborhoods In Boston For 2022

  1. West Roxbury (Homes)
  2. Roslindale (Homes)
  3. Allston-Brighton (Homes)
  4. East Boston (Homes)
  5. Fenway-Kenmore (Homes)

So, which neighborhood is the safest in Boston in 2022? 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 want to dig down deeper into each neighborhood's statistics, as well as our methodology, take a look below. Some of these neighborhoods are the best places to live in Boston.

If you dont see a neighborhood youre looking for in our top ten, scroll down to the bottom, where we have all Boston neighborhoods listed in order from safest to most dangerous. Read on to see how we determined the places around Boston that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Boston.

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

Safest Neighborhoods In Boston

The 5 Safest Neighborhoods To Live In Boston For 2022

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 32,855
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 184
Property Crime Per 100k: 686
More on West Roxbury: Homes For Sale | Data

West Roxbury Boston, MA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 36,129
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 359
Property Crime Per 100k: 992
More on Roslindale: Homes For Sale | Data

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 67,713
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 321
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,232
More on Allston-Brighton: Homes For Sale | Data

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 43,436
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 428
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,104
More on East Boston: Homes For Sale | Data

East Boston Boston, MA

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 38,280
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 388
Property Crime Per 100k: 1,426
More on Fenway-Kenmore: Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How We Determined The Safest Boston Hoods In 2022

You can ask people which neighborhoods are the safest, or you can just look at the unbiased raw data. So, instead of relying on speculation and opinion, we analyzed the hard numbers from the FBIs most recent crime report (published in September of 2019) for every neighborhood in Boston.

To be more specific, we analyzed the FBIs Uniform Crime Report. We then ran an analysis to calculate each neighborhoods property and violent crimes based on the demographics of the area and reported crime. We used two key 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.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest safest neighborhood index the "Safest City Neighborhood In Boston." We're lookin' at you, West Roxbury.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the safest places Boston. Or 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.

But as most Massachusetts residents would agree, almost every place here has its safe and not safe parts. So just make sure you're informed ahead of time.

For more Massachusetts reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Safest Neighborhoods To Live In Boston For 2022

Rank Neighborhood Crime Per 100K
1 West Roxbury 850
2 Roslindale 1,351
3 Allston-Brighton 1,563
4 East Boston 1,552
5 Fenway-Kenmore 1,814
6 Hyde Park 1,779
7 Jamaica Plain 1,852
8 Charlestown 1,937
9 South Boston 1,937
10 Mattapan 3,238
11 South Dorchester 3,291
12 North Dorchester 3,481
13 Back Bay-Beacon Hill 3,800
14 South End 3,668
15 Roxbury 4,565
16 Central 5,933

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our second time ranking the safest neighborhoods to live in Boston.
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.