Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2024
Needham, MA Crime Grade
How Needham 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
2/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
Massachusetts
2/10
vs. Massachusetts cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2024, the violent crime rate in Needham, MA was 51.9 per 100,000 residents (17 incidents over a population of 32,779). That puts Needham Infinity% above the U.S. rate of 0.0 and 83% below the Massachusetts statewide rate of 309.9.
That ranks Needham #529 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 86% of them, and #23 of 186 in Massachusetts. Violent crime is down 33% year over year and down 32% over the last five years.
Needham, MA crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- A (2/10)
- Massachusetts Grade
- A (2/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 51.9 / 100k
- National rank
- #529 of 3,771
- MA rank
- #23 of 186
- Safer than
- 86% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 33%
- 5-year change
- down 32%
- Population
- 32,779
- Reporting agency
- Needham Police Department
- Data year
- 2024 · FBI UCR
Reported by Needham Police Department (FBI ORI MA0111600) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Needham (red), Massachusetts (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Needham 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 | 76.3(24) | 43.7(14) | 80.9(26) | 77.6(25) | 51.9(17) |
| Murder | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) |
| Rape | 12.7(4) | 3.1(1) | 31.1(10) | 21.7(7) | 12.2(4) |
| Robbery | 6.4(2) | 3.1(1) | 6.2(2) | 3.1(1) | 0.0(0) |
| Aggravated assault | 57.2(18) | 37.4(12) | 43.6(14) | 52.7(17) | 39.7(13) |
| Property crime | 372.0(117) | 387.0(124) | 522.9(168) | 741.6(239) | 652.9(214) |
| Burglary | 41.3(13) | 65.5(21) | 62.2(20) | 62.1(20) | 73.2(24) |
| Larceny | 305.2(96) | 302.7(97) | 438.8(141) | 639.2(206) | 540.0(177) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 25.4(8) | 15.6(5) | 21.8(7) | 37.2(12) | 36.6(12) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Needham, 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 Needham 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 Needham calculated?
- Needham'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 Needham 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 Needham to other places
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