Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Massachusetts?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Massachusetts with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 34 cities in the Bay State with over 7,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Massachusetts? The city with the highest murder rate in Massachusetts is Auburn with 23 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Massachusetts with highest number of murders? The city in Massachusetts with the highest number of murders is Boston with 24 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Massachusetts ranked. There were ‘only’ 34 cities in Massachusetts where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 220 places had no murder.
23 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
14 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
14 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
14 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
11 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Hampden County, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. As of the 2010 Census, the city’s population was 153,060. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 692,942 as of 2010.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
Holbrook is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2010 census, the town population was 10,791.
8 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Hampden County, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 39,880. As of 2016, the estimated population was 40,280. Sitting 8 miles north of Springfield, Holyoke is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area, one of the two distinct metropolitan areas in Massachusetts.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,377, which had risen to an estimated 78,197 as of 2014. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. Lawrence and Salem are the county seats of Essex County. Lawrence is part of the Merrimack Valley.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Worcester pronunciation is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city’s population was 181,045, making it the second most populous city in New England after Boston. Worcester is located approximately 40 miles west of Boston, 50 miles east of Springfield and 40 miles north of Providence. Due to its location in Central Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the “Heart of the Commonwealth”, thus, a heart is the official symbol of the city. However, the heart symbol may also have its provenance in lore that the mass-produced Valentine’s Day card was invented in the city.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 95,314 in the 2015 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County. Brockton is the seventh largest city in Massachusetts and is sometimes referred to as the “City of Champions”, due to the success of native boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, as well as its successful Brockton High School sports programs. Two of the villages within the city are Montello and Campello, both have the distinction of having their own MBTA Commuter Rail Stations and post offices. Campello is the smallest neighborhood in the city, but also the most populous. Brockton hosts a baseball team, the Brockton Rox. Brockton is one of the windiest cities in the United States, with an average wind speed of 14.3mph.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Massachusetts’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Massachusetts’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Massachusetts
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Massachusetts for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 34 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Auburn. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Massachusetts. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Massachusetts
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | 17,122 | 4 | 23 |
| 2 | Stow | 7,198 | 1 | 14 |
| 3 | Bedford | 14,659 | 2 | 14 |
| 4 | Wilbraham | 14,798 | 2 | 14 |
| 5 | Springfield | 155,491 | 17 | 11 |
| 6 | Holbrook | 11,462 | 1 | 9 |
| 7 | Holyoke | 38,232 | 3 | 8 |
| 8 | Lawrence | 89,600 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | Worcester | 212,425 | 16 | 8 |
| 10 | Brockton | 106,650 | 8 | 8 |
| 11 | Chicopee | 55,770 | 4 | 7 |
| 12 | New Bedford | 102,491 | 7 | 7 |
| 13 | Abington | 17,261 | 1 | 6 |
| 14 | Greenfield | 17,419 | 1 | 6 |
| 15 | Chelsea | 38,307 | 2 | 5 |
| 16 | Hopkinton | 20,171 | 1 | 5 |
| 17 | Pittsfield | 42,835 | 2 | 5 |
| 18 | Leominster | 44,407 | 2 | 5 |
| 19 | Lowell | 116,062 | 5 | 4 |
| 20 | Acton | 24,506 | 1 | 4 |
| 21 | Marshfield | 26,238 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 | Boston | 659,049 | 24 | 4 |
| 23 | Northampton | 30,108 | 1 | 3 |
| 24 | Milford | 30,799 | 1 | 3 |
| 25 | Fall River | 95,573 | 3 | 3 |
| 26 | North Andover | 32,474 | 1 | 3 |
| 27 | Plymouth | 68,195 | 2 | 3 |
| 28 | Lynn | 103,200 | 3 | 3 |
| 29 | Randolph | 34,992 | 1 | 3 |
| 30 | Fitchburg | 42,332 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Attleboro | 47,594 | 1 | 2 |
| 32 | Barnstable | 50,928 | 1 | 2 |
| 33 | Taunton | 61,874 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Waltham | 65,488 | 1 | 2 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 34 Massachusetts cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Massachusetts For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Massachusetts with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Massachusetts are Auburn, Stow, Bedford, Wilbraham, Springfield, Holbrook, Holyoke, Lawrence, Worcester, and Brockton.
