Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0North Adams has more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns
Per resident, the graded rate barely moved from 2023 to 2025. From 2023 to 2025, crimes North Adams’ police reported put it at D− for safety. Behind the grade sit 11.5 violent crimes and 25.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 3.0 and 10.3 in the rest of Massachusetts. Both 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 North Adams
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 Massachusetts towns on North Adams’ borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Williamstown (B+), Adams (C+). Clarksburg reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 2025. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind North Adams’ 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | North Adams | Rest of Massachusetts | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 10.0 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 10.8 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 11.9 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 11.8 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
North Adams’ police reported 432 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 11.5 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 North Adams 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 12 violent crimes, 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 | North Adams property | Rest of Massachusetts property | North Adams violent | Rest of Massachusetts violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 23.9 | 10.4 | 10.0 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | 25.2 | 10.9 | 10.8 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 25.6 | 10.3 | 11.9 | 3.0 |
| 2025 | 25.1 | 9.8 | 11.8 | 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.
459 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.
147 violent and 312 property, as reported to the FBI by North Adams’ police.
Three people died in crashes on North Adams’s roads in 2019–2023
North Adams had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three 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 North Adams’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so North Adams’s own rate (4.8) 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.
North Adams and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Adams | D− | 11.5 | 25.3 |
| Williamstown | B+ | 0.8 | 7.8 |
| Clarksburg | — | — | — |
| Adams | C+ | 2.7 | 12.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Clarksburg reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 2025.
Massachusetts towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Adams | D− | 11.5 | 25.3 |
| Spencer | A | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Lakeville | A− | 1.3 | 4.5 |
| Athol | C+ | 4.3 | 6.5 |
| Palmer Town | C+ | 4.2 | 6.7 |
| Wrentham | C+ | 1.3 | 18.6 |
The five graded Massachusetts towns closest to North Adams’ population (12,368), 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 North Adams. 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 North Adams’ residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (12,427 in 2025); our figure for North Adams is 12,368 (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 North Adams
Is North Adams, MA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, North Adams reports more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 11.5 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 North Adams?
11.5 violent and 25.3 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 North Adams safer than Williamstown?
Williamstown reports less crime per resident than North Adams: Williamstown grades B+ for safety and North Adams D−. Williamstown’s police reported 0.8 violent and 7.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices North Adams?
North Adams’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “North Adams”. 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 North Adams.
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.