Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Per resident, Marlborough records more violent crime than 84% of U.S. towns
Its police logs show 4.2 violent crimes and 10.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, while in the rest of Massachusetts the numbers are 3.0 and 10.3. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Marlborough at C (#250 of 276 graded towns in Massachusetts): more crime per resident than 68% of U.S. towns. Add to that, all 6 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident.
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 Marlborough
6 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 Massachusetts towns on Marlborough’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Northborough (A+), Berlin (A), Southborough (A), Sudbury (A), Hudson (B), Framingham (C+). Neighbors ↓
Among Massachusetts towns, lower
Massachusetts’ cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Marlborough’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 9% of the 276 Massachusetts towns we grade, against 32% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A job center
Marlborough has 34,160 jobs based in town for 42,772 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Marlborough’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds Marlborough’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down.
Crime in Marlborough 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 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Marlborough | Rest of Massachusetts | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.8 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Marlborough’s police reported 528 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 4.2 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.0 in the rest of Massachusetts and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Marlborough property | Rest of Massachusetts property | Marlborough violent | Rest of Massachusetts violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.6 | 10.5 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 4.2 | 3.0 |
| 2025 | 9.2 | 9.8 | 4.8 | 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.
590 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.
204 violent and 386 property, as reported to the FBI by Marlborough’s police.
13 people died in crashes on Marlborough’s roads in 2019–2023
Marlborough had 13 fatal crashes in five years, in which 13 people died; 2 were pedestrians. 4 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 6.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Massachusetts towns of 25,000–100,000 people (4.0, 86 towns).
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.
Marlborough and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | C | 4.2 | 10.5 |
| Northborough | A+ | 0.2 | 2.9 |
| Southborough | A | 0.7 | 2.0 |
| Berlin | A | 0.3 | 3.1 |
| Sudbury | A | 0.6 | 3.2 |
| Framingham | C+ | 2.9 | 9.8 |
| Hudson | B | 2.3 | 6.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Massachusetts towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | C | 4.2 | 10.5 |
| Billerica | A− | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Beverly | B+ | 1.6 | 4.8 |
| Woburn | B | 1.7 | 9.3 |
| Fitchburg | C | 4.9 | 12.6 |
| Pittsfield | C− | 5.8 | 11.6 |
The five graded Massachusetts towns closest to Marlborough’s population (42,772), 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 Marlborough. 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 Marlborough’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (42,184 in 2025); our figure for Marlborough is 42,772 (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 Marlborough
Is Marlborough, MA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Marlborough reports more crime per resident than 68% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #250 of 276 in Massachusetts. Its police reported 4.2 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 Marlborough?
4.2 violent and 10.5 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.
How many homicides were there in Marlborough in 2025?
Marlborough’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Marlborough safer than Northborough?
Northborough reports less crime per resident than Marlborough: Northborough grades A+ for safety and Marlborough C. Northborough’s police reported 0.2 violent and 2.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Marlborough?
Marlborough’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Marlborough”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Marlborough.
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.