Needham One of Safest Communities in Country

Needham is one of the top 20 safest communities, and has only gotten safer in the last year. 

A recent study on Neighborhood Scout indicates that, thus far in 2013, Needham ranked 16 out of the top 100 safest communities nationwide. The town has dropped from 15th place in 2012.

This year's leader is Franklin, Mass., which was number two last year behind Bergenfield, NJ. Wellesley makes this year's number 15 spot, and was ranked 19 last year. Lexington came in number 20 last year. 

According to the Neighborhood Scout report for Needham, the town is safer than 85 percent of communities in the country. The odds of falling victim to a crime in Wellesley are in 1 in 7271, compared to the Massachusetts-wide odds of 1 in 233.

Their map also shows that the Charles River Station and Birds Hill neighborhoods are the safest parts of the town.