The 25 Most Dangerous Cities in Massachusetts – Where Does Worcester Rank?

WORCESTER – On Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, the FBI released their violent crimes data from the 2018 Uniform Crime Reporting [UCR] Program — a collection of the number of offenses that come to the attention of law enforcement for violent crime and property crime across each town, city, state and region in the United States.

SEE THE LIST BELOW: Where Does Worcester Rank Among the Most Dangerous Cities in MA?

According to the FBI, in 2018, there were more than 23,000 violent crimes reported in Massachusetts — with 1,271 being reported in Worcester [a notable decrease from 2017’s 1,345 reported violent crimes].

ThisWeekinWorcester.com has gathered the FBI’s 2018 crime data and has ranked the 25 cities in the Bay State with the highest violent crime rates per capita [1,000 people].

The FBI classifies violent crime by four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses that involve force or threat of force.

More data on Worcester from the FBI’s “Crime in the United States” Report

• There were 928 reported cases of aggravated assault, 290 robberies and 49 reports of rape in Worcester in 2018.
• Worcester had the third-most reported violent crimes in MA in 2018 [behind Boston and Springfield].
• There were nearly 4,000 reports of property crime including 2,790 larceny/thefts, 849 burglaries, 340 motor vehicle thefts and nine reports of arson. 
• There are just four cities in the 25 Most Dangerous Cities list located in Worcester County.

Here are the 25 Cities in MA with the Most Violent Crimes per capita:

#25 – Peabody 

Population: 53,209

Violent Crimes: 159

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 2.98

Murder: 0

#24 – Lowell

Population: 111,189

Violent Crimes: 363

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 3.24

Murder: 4

#23 – Framingham

Population: 72,510

Violent Crimes: 253

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 3.48

Murder: 0

#22 – Agawam

Population: 28,955

Violent Crimes: 105

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 3.62

Murder: 0

#21 – Everett

Population:  47,005

Violent Crimes: 173

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 3.68

Murder: 1

#20 – Quincy

Population: 94,388

Violent Crimes:  352

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 3.72

Murder: 0

#19 – Northampton 

Population: 28,587

Violent Crimes: 113

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 3.95

Murder: 1

#18 – Marlborough

Population:  40,052

Violent Crimes:  167

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 4.16

Murder: 0

#17 – Taunton

Population: 57,304

Violent Crimes: 243

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 4.24

Murder: 0

#16 – Gardner

Population: 20,704

Violent Crimes: 92

Violent Crimes Per Capita:  4.44

Murder: 0

#15 – Revere

Population: 54,296

Violent Crimes: 259

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 4.77

Murder: 0

#14 – Leominster

Population: 41,727

Violent Crimes:  219

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 5.2

Murder: 0

#13 – Haverhill

Population: 64,012

Violent Crimes: 358

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 5.59

Murder: 2

#12 – Fitchburg

Population: 40,836

Violent Crimes: 238

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 5.82

Murder: 2

#11 – Lynn

Population: 94,558

Violent Crimes: 563

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 5.95

Murder: 3

#10 – Lawrence 

Population: 80,669

Violent Crimes: 500

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 5

Murder: 6.19

#9 – Boston 

Population: 694,673

Violent Crimes: 4,324

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 6.22

Murder: 56

#8 – New Bedford

Population: 95,106

Violent Crimes: 603

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 6.34

Murder: 3

#7 – Chelsea

Population: 40,974

Violent Crimes: 277

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 6.76

Murder: 0

#6 – Worcester

Population: 186,188

Violent Crimes: 1,271

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 6.82

Murder: 4

#5 – Pittsfield 

Population: 42,298

Violent Crimes: 356

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 8.41

Murder: 3

#4 – Brockton

Population: 95,922

Violent Crimes: 868

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 9.04

Murder: 9

#3 – Holyoke

Population: 40,470

Violent Crimes: 391

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 9.66

Murder: 1

#2 – Springfield

Population: 155,179

Violent Crimes: 1,534

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 9.88

Murder: 19

#1 – Fall River

Population: 89,475

Violent Crimes: 908

Violent Crimes Per Capita: 10.1

Murder: 1