Rotch, William J., Gothic Cottage · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Violent crime per resident is higher in New Bedford than in 82% of U.S. towns
All 3 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. New Bedford grades C for safety overall (#256 of 276 graded towns in Massachusetts, and #113 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 74% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Add to that, its police logs show 4.0 violent crimes and 14.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, while in the rest of Massachusetts the numbers are 3.0 and 10.3. The rate the grade counts dropped 8% from 2023 to 2025.
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 New Bedford
3 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 Massachusetts towns on New Bedford’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Acushnet (B+), Fairhaven (B−), Dartmouth (C+). Neighbors ↓
Among Massachusetts towns, lower
Massachusetts’ cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so New Bedford’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 7% of the 276 Massachusetts towns we grade, against 26% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
New Bedford’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 4.9 per 100,000 residents a year, 2.9 times the rest of Massachusetts (1.7) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 2.4 times the rest of Massachusetts
81.1 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (68 reported in 2025), 2.4 times the rest of Massachusetts (33.4) and about the same as all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, New Bedford reports less crime per resident than 65% (#113). Places like it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind New Bedford’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 higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its property rate (14.9) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | New Bedford property | Rest of Massachusetts property | New Bedford violent | Rest of Massachusetts violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 15.6 | 10.4 | 6.3 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | 15.5 | 10.8 | 5.0 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 13.6 | 10.3 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| 2025 | 15.5 | 9.7 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Massachusetts.
Crime in New Bedford 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 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | New Bedford | Rest of Massachusetts | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 6.8 | 1.8 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | New Bedford | Rest of Massachusetts | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 109 | 37.0 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 98.1 | 35.3 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 78.1 | 33.1 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 67.2 | 31.7 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
New Bedford’s police reported 4 homicides, 68 robberies and 347 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Massachusetts and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
1,912 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.
347 violent and 1,565 property, as reported to the FBI by New Bedford’s police.
27 people died in crashes on New Bedford’s roads in 2019–2023
New Bedford had 26 fatal crashes in five years, in which 27 people died; 4 were pedestrians. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is 5.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Massachusetts towns of 100,000+ people (4.3, 9 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.
New Bedford and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | C | 4.0 | 14.9 |
| Fairhaven | B− | 2.7 | 6.9 |
| Acushnet | B+ | 1.9 | 3.2 |
| Dartmouth | C+ | 2.6 | 12.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Massachusetts towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | C | 4.0 | 14.9 |
| Newton | A− | 0.5 | 5.6 |
| Quincy | C+ | 3.3 | 12.1 |
| Lynn | C− | 5.3 | 10.9 |
| Brockton | C− | 5.9 | 15.8 |
| Fall River | D | 8.1 | 14.5 |
The five graded Massachusetts towns closest to New Bedford’s population (101,834), 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 New Bedford. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against New Bedford’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (101,139 in 2025); our figure for New Bedford is 101,834 (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 New Bedford
Is New Bedford, MA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, New Bedford reports more crime per resident than 74% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #256 of 276 in Massachusetts. Its police reported 4.0 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 New Bedford?
4.0 violent and 14.9 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 New Bedford in 2025?
New Bedford’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 4.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is New Bedford safer than Fairhaven?
Fairhaven reports less crime per resident than New Bedford: Fairhaven grades B− for safety and New Bedford C. Fairhaven’s police reported 2.7 violent and 6.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices New Bedford?
New Bedford’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “New Bedford”. 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 New Bedford.
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.