Ten Pound Island Light · Photo: Unitzebra3 at en.wikipedia · Public domainCrime per resident in Manchester-by-the-Sea runs lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Each of the 5 towns on its borders with figures records more crime per resident. Add to that, typical years here bring 0.5 violent crime plus 2.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 3.0 plus 10.3 in the rest of Massachusetts. Its Safety Grade is A, on crimes Manchester-by-the-Sea’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #17 of 276 graded towns in Massachusetts.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MA” is every other Massachusetts city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Manchester-by-the-Sea
Manchester-by-the-Sea reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 5 Massachusetts towns on Manchester-by-the-Sea’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Hamilton (A), Wenham (A), Essex (B+), Beverly (B+), Gloucester (B). Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Manchester-by-the-Sea’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Manchester-by-the-Sea | Rest of Massachusetts | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.0 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Manchester-by-the-Sea’s police reported 8 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.0 in the rest of Massachusetts and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Manchester-by-the-Sea per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Manchester-by-the-Sea property | Rest of Massachusetts property | Manchester-by-the-Sea violent | Rest of Massachusetts violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.2 | 10.5 | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | 3.0 | 10.9 | 0.4 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 2.4 | 10.3 | 0.2 | 3.0 |
| 2025 | 2.2 | 9.8 | 0.9 | 2.9 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Massachusetts.
17 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
5 violent and 12 property, as reported to the FBI by Manchester-by-the-Sea’s police.
Two people died in crashes on Manchester-by-the-Sea’s roads in 2019–2023
Manchester-by-the-Sea had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which two people died.
That is about what is typical for Massachusetts towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Manchester-by-the-Sea’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Manchester-by-the-Sea’s own rate (7.4) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Manchester-by-the-Sea and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | A | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Beverly | B+ | 1.6 | 4.8 |
| Gloucester | B | 2.5 | 5.3 |
| Essex | B+ | 2.1 | 2.6 |
| Hamilton | A | 0.7 | 2.5 |
| Wenham | A | 0.9 | 1.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Massachusetts towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | A | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Boxborough | A− | 1.1 | 3.1 |
| Marion | B+ | 0.9 | 6.5 |
| Edgartown | B− | 2.2 | 8.8 |
| Barre | B− | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| Oak Bluffs | C+ | 3.3 | 10.6 |
The five graded Massachusetts towns closest to Manchester-by-the-Sea’s population (5,475), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Manchester-by-the-Sea. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Manchester-by-the-Sea’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (5,473 in 2025); our figure for Manchester-by-the-Sea is 5,475 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Manchester-by-the-Sea
Is Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Manchester-by-the-Sea reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, an A Safety Grade and #17 of 276 in Massachusetts. Its police reported 0.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.0 in the rest of Massachusetts and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Manchester-by-the-Sea?
0.5 violent and 2.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Massachusetts reports 3.0 and 10.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Manchester-by-the-Sea safer than Beverly?
Beverly reports more crime per resident than Manchester-by-the-Sea: Beverly grades B+ for safety and Manchester-by-the-Sea A. Beverly’s police reported 1.6 violent and 4.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Manchester-by-the-Sea?
Manchester-by-the-Sea’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Manchester-by-the-Sea”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.