These 7 MA Suburbs Among Safest In U.S. In New Ranking

MASSACHUSETTS — Seven Greater Boston suburbs are among the 360 safest in the country, according to a new ranking of communities based on low crime and other significant safety criteria families consider when choosing a place to live.

The ranking of America's Safest Suburbs by the financial services provider smartasset used publicly available data on violent crime, property crime and traffic deaths, as well as the number of adults reporting they drink excessively in a survey for the 2025 County Health Rankings & Roadmap, a project of the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute.

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Data from the FBI’s 2023 Uniform Crime Reporting Database and the Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey were also used in the analysis.

According to the analysis, Lexington is the safest place to live in Massachusetts. It ranks in 16th place nationally. The analysis shows the community has a violent crime rate of .0013 per capita, a property crime rate of .0075 per capita, and 4.03 traffic deaths per 100,000 population. Also, 20.7 percent of Lexington residents reported that they excessively drink in a survey for the 2025 County Health Rankings

Other suburbs that made the list are:

SOMERVILLE
Violent crime per capita: .0068
Property crime per capita: .0209
Traffic deaths per 100,000 population: 4.0318
Adults reporting excessive drinking: 20.70%

BROOKLINE
Violent crime per capita: .0026
Property crime per capita: .0119
Traffic deaths per 100,000 population: 5.052
Adults reporting excessive drinking: 22.52%

QUINCY
Violent crime per capita: .0114
Property crime per capita: .025
Traffic deaths per 100,000 population: 5.0512
Adults reporting excessive drinking: 22.52%

SALEM
Violent crime per capita: .0128
Property crime per capita: .0296
Traffic deaths per 100,000 population: 4.8477
Adults reporting excessive drinking: 21.51%

CHELSEA
Violent crime per capita: .0281
Property crime per capita: .0319
Traffic deaths per 100,000 population: 4.4283
Adults reporting excessive drinking: 21.06%

PLYMOUTH
Violent crime per capita: .0889
Property crime per capita: .01461
Traffic deaths per 100,000 population: 7.9828
Adults reporting excessive drinking: 23.78%

Housing costs and quality of life are often factors when people move to the suburbs, but smartasset said its report showed that people are willing to pay more to move to a neighborhood if they feel safe.

The 360 towns ranked in the report are all within 45 minutes driving distance of a major city.

The report found the top 20 safest suburbs are:

1. Lehi, Utah
2. Bethesda, Maryland
3. Great Falls, Virginia
4. Rockville, Maryland
5. Dacula, Georgia
6. Buford, Georgia
7. Layton, Utah
8. Edgewater, New Jersey
9. McKinney, Texas
10. Frisco, Texas
11. Gretna, Nebraska
12. Noblesville, Indiana
13. Fishers, Indiana
14. Highland Park, Illinois
15. Carmel, Indiana
16. Lexington, Massachusetts
17. Brownsburg, Indiana
18. Fort Lee, New Jersey
19. Spring, Texas
20. Canton, Georgia