Is Boston Safe? 2026 Crime Stats

Boston’s crime rate in 2026 is running slightly below last year’s pace on most major measures, according to the Boston Police Department’s weekly figures for Jan. 1 through Oct. 18. The city recorded 25 homicides in that span, compared with 27 at the same point in 2025, and total property crime fell 2%. The numbers are preliminary, and a few categories moved the other way.

Key facts: Boston crime, Jan. 1 to Oct. 18, 2026

Homicides: 25 (27 in 2025; five-year average 28.2)
Shooting victims, fatal and nonfatal: 101 (106 in 2025)
Robberies and attempted robberies: 594 (622 in 2025)
Property crimes: 13,197 (13,488 in 2025)
City population: 673,822 (Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey)
Source: Boston Police Department weekly crime statistics

Violent crime in Boston: what the 2026 numbers show

The department groups homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault as Part One violent crimes. Its Oct. 18 Part One report lists 125 reported rapes and attempted rapes, down from 137 a year earlier and well under the five-year average of 168.8. Robbery is also lower this year.

Aggravated assault is the exception. Domestic aggravated assaults rose to 748 from 733, and non-domestic aggravated assaults edged up to 1,303 from 1,294. Both figures remain close to their five-year averages.

Using the Census Bureau’s 2024 population estimate for the city, the 25 homicides so far equal about 3.7 per 100,000 residents. That is a Boston Report calculation for a partial year, not an annual rate published by police.

Shootings in Boston so far this year

The department’s shooting summary counts 17 fatal shooting victims in 2026, the same as last year, and 84 nonfatal victims, down from 89. The number of separate shooting incidents dropped further, to 75 from 90, and stands 29% below the five-year average of 105.8.

The gap between incidents and victims reflects a handful of shootings with several people hit. Police list one shooting with four victims and three with five victims this year; none of either kind occurred in the same period of 2025. Total victims are 23% below the five-year average.

Police note that the shooting slide is updated by hand on weekdays and may not include incidents from the previous 48 hours. The city’s Analyze Boston shootings dataset offers incident-level records back to 2015, published with a seven-day delay.

Property crime: car break-ins down, larceny steady

Property offenses make up the bulk of reported crime in Boston. Thefts from motor vehicles fell to 1,426 from 1,661, a drop of about 14%. Residential burglaries declined to 463 from 532, and commercial burglaries fell to 285 from 340.

Other larceny, which covers shoplifting and similar thefts, rose slightly to 7,217 from 7,136 and sits about 18% above its five-year average. Auto thefts were essentially flat at 1,011.

Boston crime by neighborhood and police district

Results vary across the city’s 12 police districts. District B3, which covers Mattapan and parts of Dorchester, has recorded nine homicides, the most of any district. District B2, centered on Roxbury, has five.

For property crime, District E13 in Jamaica Plain shows the sharpest increase, up 24% to 826 reports. District A7 in East Boston is up 18%. District D14, covering Allston and Brighton, has the largest decline at 17%, and District D4, which includes the South End and Back Bay, is down 6%.

Downtown District A1 still reports the most robberies, at 96, although that figure is lower than the 109 recorded a year ago.

Is Boston safe? How to read the data

Crime counts reflect reported incidents, so changes in reporting can affect totals. The department labels its figures preliminary until federal Uniform Crime Reporting coding is complete. Its homicide totals for 2025 also include three cases ruled homicides that year but which occurred earlier.

Residents who want street-level detail can use the city’s open data portal. Readers comparing Boston with other cities should use full-year FBI data, which counts crimes in the same way across jurisdictions.

For more on city services and costs, see our guides to where Boston’s $4.9 billion budget goes and help with Boston heating bills this winter. Weekend plans are covered in our list of things to do in Boston, Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. City Hall coverage is on our Boston Politics hub, and the latest local headlines are on the Boston News hub.

Frequently asked questions

How many homicides has Boston had in 2026?

Boston police counted 25 homicides from Jan. 1 through Oct. 18, 2026, two fewer than in the same period of 2025.

Are shootings up or down in Boston?

Down. Shooting victims fell to 101 from 106, and shooting incidents fell to 75 from 90.

Where can I find Boston crime statistics?

The Boston Police Department posts weekly year-to-date reports on its website, and Analyze Boston publishes incident-level data.

Sources

Additional sources

Photo: Boston Police cruiser on Beacon Street, by Ben Schumin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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Boston Crime Rate 2026: Homicides, Shootings and Thefts by District