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Is Cambridge, MA Safe? 2026 Crime Rates & Safety Report

Key facts

  1. 01

    Cambridge, Massachusetts reported 2,405.05 larceny-theft offenses per 100,000 residents in 2025, 2.17 times the national reference of 1,106.97 per 100,000 and 1,298.08 per 100,000 above that reference, with 2,833 annual reported offenses (FBI CDE 2025 profile).

  2. 02

    Cambridge, Massachusetts reported 91.69 robbery offenses per 100,000 residents in 2025, 1.90 times the national reference of 48.24 per 100,000 and 43.45 per 100,000 above that reference, with 108 annual reported offenses (FBI CDE 2025 profile).

  3. 03

    Cambridge, Massachusetts reported 76.40 motor vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 residents in 2025, 0.40 times the national reference of 193.00 per 100,000 and 116.60 per 100,000 below that reference, with 90 annual reported offenses (FBI CDE 2025 profile).

  4. 04

    Cambridge, Massachusetts reported 325.14 aggravated assault offenses per 100,000 residents in 2025, 1.42 times the national reference of 229.56 per 100,000 and 95.58 per 100,000 above that reference, with 383 annual reported offenses (FBI CDE 2025 profile).

  5. 05

    Cambridge, Massachusetts reported 198.65 burglary offenses per 100,000 residents in 2025, 1.06 times the national reference of 188.15 per 100,000 and 10.50 per 100,000 above that reference, with 234 annual reported offenses (FBI CDE 2025 profile).

Quick answer

In the Safety Atlas 2026 public safety index, Cambridge, MA has an adjusted safety score of 50.91 out of 100. It ranks #3 in this comparison set out of the 7 jurisdictions in the current scored comparison set in Massachusetts. Its overall crime trajectory is currently classified as stable.

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Chart of Cambridge, MA crime statistics: Cambridge reported 530 violent offenses in 2025, 0.8% more than in 2024. Shows violent and property monthly bars.
Cambridge reported 530 violent offenses in 2025, 0.8% more than in 2024. Source: FBI NIBRS, 2025, MA0091100. Counts of reported offenses, not rates. CC BY 4.0
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Data, definitions and reuse

Violent: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault. Property: burglary, larceny, vehicle theft, arson. Subcategories are excluded to avoid double counting. Counts are offenses reported to police in this jurisdiction, not rates, neighborhood scores or a census of all crime.

Monthly source sums, 2025
MonthViolentProperty
Jan44240
Feb36247
Mar33243
Apr43227
May39256
Jun50275
Jul61276
Aug60323
Sep48277
Oct42319
Nov39261
Dec35219

Reuse under CC BY 4.0; indicate changes. The downloaded image carries our name, licence and source in its metadata. Embed code:

<img src="https://www.safetyatlas.us/img/charts/cambridge-ma-crime-trend-2025.webp" alt="Chart of Cambridge, MA crime statistics: Cambridge reported 530 violent offenses in 2025, 0.8% more than in 2024. Shows violent and property monthly bars." width="1200" height="675" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%;height:auto">
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.safetyatlas.us/safety/ma/cambridge">Safety Atlas, Cambridge, MA</a>. <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a>.</p>

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50.91 / 100
Adjusted safety score
Personal safety56.85
Property security40.45
Community order51.75

2026 edition, FBI source year 2025.

Analyst takeaways · computed from the 2025 monthly series

Cambridge in 7 numbers

  1. Aggravated assault rose 2%. 383 reports in 2025 vs 375 in 2024 (+2%), the largest year-over-year move of any indicator offense.
  2. More than half of all reports are property crime. 3,454 of 6,018 reports (57.4%); larceny-theft alone is 2,833 (47.1%).
  3. Clearances skew toward violent crime. 59.5% of aggravated assaults cleared vs 18.7% of larcenies and 33.3% of robberies (2025, reports cleared ÷ reports received).
  4. A second look at aggravated assault. July (48) ran 1.9× October (25); the year finished up 2%.
  5. Robbery is volatile but stable. Monthly counts swung 10.5× (Aug 21 vs Mar 2); the year finished about level with 2024.
  6. The biggest volume isn’t violent. Simple assault (730) and vandalism (587) dwarf the whole personal-safety total (541, 9.0% of reports).
  7. Small months, big bars. December’s 8 robberies vs August’s 21 is a gap of 13 reports, monthly charts amplify small-number swings. Read the 12-month direction, not one bar.

Takeaways are computed from FBI CDE reported counts (source year 2025, MA0091100). They describe reported data, not forecasts; check the methodology and coverage notes before reuse.

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Key Public Safety Indicators

Reported rates per 100,000 residents; national references shown alongside.

Offense Class Annual Count Rate per 100K National Avg vs National
Robbery 108 91.69 48.24 1.9× national
Aggravated Assault 383 325.14 229.56 1.42× national
Burglary 234 198.65 188.15 1.06× national
Larceny-theft 2833 2405.05 1106.97 2.17× national
Motor Vehicle Theft 90 76.4 193.0 0.4× national
FBI NIBRS monthly detail · source year 2025

Cambridge monthly trend: reported counts through December 2025

Annual totals hide timing. The bars below show 2025 reported counts per month for the three highest-relative indicator offenses; each table carries the same numbers with FBI pre-computed rates. The full 19-offense monthly series (2020-2025) is downloadable below.

Larceny-theft, month by month

→ Stable, 2833 reports vs 2797 in 2024 (about level in reported data).

Larceny-theft 2025: reported counts and FBI pre-computed rates per 100,000
MonthCountRate per 100KCoverage
Jan 2025213175.12Full
Feb 2025221181.69Full
Mar 2025217178.4Full
Apr 2025204167.72Full
May 2025230189.09Full
Jun 2025246202.25Full
Jul 2025250205.53Full
Aug 2025286235.13Full
Sep 2025251206.36Full
Oct 2025282231.84Full
Nov 2025235193.2Full
Dec 2025198162.78Full

Robbery, month by month

→ Stable, 108 reports vs 110 in 2024 (about level in reported data).

Robbery 2025: reported counts and FBI pre-computed rates per 100,000
MonthCountRate per 100KCoverage
Jan 202564.93Full
Feb 202586.58Full
Mar 202521.64Full
Apr 202575.75Full
May 202564.93Full
Jun 202575.75Full
Jul 2025129.87Full
Aug 20252117.26Full
Sep 2025129.87Full
Oct 20251310.69Full
Nov 202564.93Full
Dec 202586.58Full

Aggravated Assault, month by month

→ Stable, 383 reports vs 375 in 2024 (about level in reported data).

Aggravated Assault 2025: reported counts and FBI pre-computed rates per 100,000
MonthCountRate per 100KCoverage
Jan 20253528.77Full
Feb 20252722.2Full
Mar 20252621.38Full
Apr 20253327.13Full
May 20253125.49Full
Jun 20253327.13Full
Jul 20254839.46Full
Aug 20253730.42Full
Sep 20253226.31Full
Oct 20252520.55Full
Nov 20253125.49Full
Dec 20252520.55Full

Clearances: what got cleared in 2025

60% of aggravated assaults cleared vs 9% of motor vehicle thefts, clearance follows violent crime, not volume.

Clearances 2025: reports cleared per 100 reports received, highest rate first
OffenseReportedClearedClearance rate
Homicide2150.0%
Aggravated Assault38322859.5%
Robbery1083633.3%
Burglary2345523.5%
Larceny-theft2,83352918.7%
Motor Vehicle Theft9088.9%

Clearances ÷ reports received; clearances may concern earlier reports, so this is not a solve rate.

Monthly counts and FBI pre-computed rates per 100,000, FBI CDE source year 2025, MA0091100. Rates use FBI month-specific covered-population denominators and are shown as published, not recomputed. A hyphen (-) means not reported, not zero. Annual totals equal the sum of shown months within ±2% (see manifest).

Downloads: Cambridge monthly series (JSON) · same data (CSV) · build manifest

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City-specific reading

What drives Cambridge's safety score?

Cambridge ranks in the middle half of the 7 jurisdictions in the current scored comparison set in Massachusetts, ahead of approximately 57% of that scored set. The profile uses a reporting population of 117,794 and source-year data through 2025; it is a citywide agency-level comparison, not a neighborhood forecast.

The strongest of the three score components is Personal Safety at 56.85, while Property Security is lowest at 40.45. The 16.4-point spread shows why the composite should be read by component instead of as a single absolute claim about safety.

Among the five public offense indicators, Larceny-theft is highest relative to its national reference at 2405.05 per 100,000 (2.17× the national rate). Motor Vehicle Theft is lowest on the same relative basis at 76.4 per 100,000 (0.4× national).

Coverage check: 18 of 18 tracked offense classes have reportable values in this profile. Missing values are not converted to zero.

Public indicator mix

Cambridge, Massachusetts recorded 2,833 larceny-theft offenses in 2025, 77.7% of the 3,648 reports across its five public indicators, compared with 90 motor vehicle theft reports (2.5%); this share covers only those five indicators, excluding other offense classes.

Cambridge, Massachusetts recorded 383 aggravated assault offenses in 2025, 10.5% of the 3,648 reports across its five public indicators, compared with 90 motor vehicle theft reports (2.5%); this share covers only those five indicators, excluding other offense classes.

Cambridge, Massachusetts recorded 234 burglary offenses in 2025, 6.4% of the 3,648 reports across its five public indicators, compared with 90 motor vehicle theft reports (2.5%); this share covers only those five indicators, excluding other offense classes.

Cambridge, Massachusetts uses a reporting population of 117,794 residents and has values for 18 of the 18 tracked offense classes (100.0%) in its 2025 profile; coverage describes available classes rather than the share of residents reporting crime.

Cambridge, Massachusetts has an adjusted score of 50.91 points out of 100 versus 89.68 in Mashpee, Massachusetts, a difference of 38.77 points below that displayed state peer in the 2025 source-year profile; Cambridge ranks 3 of 7 scored jurisdictions in the published state comparison set.

Cambridge, Massachusetts has an adjusted score of 50.91 points out of 100 versus 75.83 in Worcester, Massachusetts, a difference of 24.92 points below that displayed state peer in the 2025 source-year profile; Cambridge ranks 3 of 7 scored jurisdictions in the published state comparison set.

Detailed Crime Class Breakdown

Additional tracked offense classes

  • Homicide
  • Rape
  • Kidnapping/Abduction
  • Human Trafficking
  • Arson
  • Theft From Building
  • Theft From Motor Vehicle
  • Simple Assault
  • Intimidation
  • Stolen Property Offenses
  • Vandalism
  • Weapon Law Violations
  • Drug/Narcotic Violations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cambridge safe compared to other places in Massachusetts?

Cambridge is classified as having moderate relative safety in the 2026 Safety Atlas Index. It has an adjusted safety score of 50.91 out of 100 and ranks #3 in this comparison set out of the 7 jurisdictions in the current scored comparison set in Massachusetts.

What is the crime rate in Cambridge?

Public offense rates are listed above.

What is Cambridge's safety rating?

Cambridge's safety rating in the 2026 Safety Atlas Index is 50.91 out of 100, which ranks #3 in this comparison set out of the 7 jurisdictions in the current scored comparison set in Massachusetts. Its overall crime trajectory is currently classified as stable, using source-year data through 2025.

What is the safest neighborhood in Cambridge?

This profile covers the reporting jurisdiction; consult local sources for neighborhood detail.

Why are some crime statistics locked for Cambridge?

Full offense series: state workbook.

How fresh is the monthly crime data on this page?

Monthly figures track FBI CDE source year 2025, the same vintage as the annual table above. A new FBI release typically lags several months; the caption stamps the source year and export date. Values can revise when the FBI re-publishes. Full monthly series for Cambridge are downloadable as JSON and CSV.

Why does the monthly chart move so much?

Monthly counts are small numbers, a difference of a few reports swings the bar. Reporting practice, staffing, and seasonal patterns all move single months. Read the 12-month direction in the trajectory line, not one bar. This profile measures the reporting jurisdiction only; it cannot rank neighborhoods within Cambridge.

What does the clearance rate on this page mean?

It divides 2025 reports cleared by 2025 reports received for that offense, including clearances of earlier reports, so it is a workload snapshot, not a guarantee a given case is solved. In Cambridge, violent offenses clear at far higher rates than property offenses (aggravated assault 60%, motor vehicle theft 8.9%). Monthly clearance detail is not published yet.

Reading notes

Massachusetts safety directory

Safety Atlas methodology · 2026 coverage report

Cite This Public Safety Profile

Citation formats:

APA Citation Format:
Safety Atlas. (2026). Cambridge, MA Public Safety Profile & Crime Rates. Retrieved from https://www.safetyatlas.us/safety/ma/cambridge
MLA Citation Format:
"Cambridge, MA Public Safety Profile & Crime Rates." Safety Atlas, 2026, https://www.safetyatlas.us/safety/ma/cambridge.

Primary Source Data Integrity

  • Crime Counts: FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) database.
  • Demographics: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate boundaries.
  • Methodology: Adjusted per-capita normalization with small-sample relief controls. View our complete Methodology Documentation.