Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2024
Cambridge, MA Crime Grade
How Cambridge grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of Massachusetts — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
9/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
Massachusetts
10/10
vs. Massachusetts cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2024, the violent crime rate in Cambridge, MA was 436.7 per 100,000 residents (526 incidents over a population of 120,447). That puts Cambridge Infinity% above the U.S. rate of 0.0 and 41% above the Massachusetts statewide rate of 309.9.
That ranks Cambridge #3,140 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 17% of them, and #168 of 186 in Massachusetts. Violent crime is down 9% year over year and up 54% over the last five years.
Cambridge, MA crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- F (9/10)
- Massachusetts Grade
- F (10/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 436.7 / 100k
- National rank
- #3,140 of 3,771
- MA rank
- #168 of 186
- Safer than
- 17% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 9%
- 5-year change
- up 54%
- Population
- 120,447
- Reporting agency
- Cambridge Police Department
- Data year
- 2024 · FBI UCR
Reported by Cambridge Police Department (FBI ORI MA0091100) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
About Cambridge, MA
Also known as
- Mishawum
- Old Cambridge
- New Town
- Newtowne
- New Towne
- Newtown
Location
1.8 mi WNW of Boston C. H., Middlesex County; City of Boston.
Name history sourced from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) — public-domain federal geographic-names data.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Cambridge (red), Massachusetts (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Cambridge vs. U.S., 2024 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 284.3(341) | 305.7(372) | 405.0(474) | 479.2(570) | 436.7(526) |
| Murder | 0.8(1) | 0.8(1) | 0.0(0) | 0.8(1) | 0.0(0) |
| Rape | 20.8(25) | 27.9(34) | 35.0(41) | 36.1(43) | 34.0(41) |
| Robbery | 55.9(67) | 52.6(64) | 82.0(96) | 100.0(119) | 91.3(110) |
| Aggravated assault | 206.8(248) | 224.3(273) | 287.9(337) | 342.1(407) | 311.3(375) |
| Property crime | 1842.6(2,210) | 1945.8(2,368) | 2252.1(2,636) | 2402.5(2,858) | 2655.9(3,199) |
| Burglary | 168.4(202) | 167.6(204) | 237.5(278) | 221.9(264) | 235.8(284) |
| Larceny | 1595.8(1,914) | 1676.3(2,040) | 1883.9(2,205) | 2048.6(2,437) | 2323.0(2,798) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 67.5(81) | 97.8(119) | 118.8(139) | 118.5(141) | 84.7(102) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Cambridge, MA Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Cambridge Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Cambridge calculated?
- Cambridge's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the Massachusetts state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to Massachusetts cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Cambridge Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in Massachusetts
Comparable Massachusetts cities by population.
Compare Cambridge to other places
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