Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainSouthbridge Town has more violent crime per resident than four in five U.S. towns
Each of the 3 towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident. Overall, Southbridge Town grades C+ for safety (#237 of 276 graded towns in Massachusetts): more crime per resident than 63% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. Even so, the rate the grade counts dropped 32% from 2023 to 2025. Behind the grade sit 3.7 violent crimes and 9.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 3.0 and 10.3 in the rest of 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 Southbridge Town
3 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 Massachusetts towns on Southbridge Town’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Dudley (A−), Charlton (A−), Sturbridge (B−). Neighbors ↓
Among Massachusetts towns, lower
Massachusetts’ cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Southbridge Town’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 14% of the 276 Massachusetts towns we grade, against 37% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
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 Southbridge Town’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds Southbridge Town’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Southbridge Town property | Rest of Massachusetts property | Southbridge Town violent | Rest of Massachusetts violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.0 | 10.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | 13.9 | 10.9 | 4.0 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 6.3 | 10.3 | 3.7 | 3.0 |
| 2025 | 8.5 | 9.8 | 3.5 | 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 Southbridge Town 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 4 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 | Southbridge Town | Rest of Massachusetts | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Southbridge Town’s police reported 201 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.0 in the rest of Massachusetts and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
219 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.
64 violent and 155 property, as reported to the FBI by Southbridge Town’s police.
One person died in crashes on Southbridge Town’s roads in 2019–2023
Southbridge Town had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is fewer than 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 Southbridge Town’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Southbridge Town’s own rate (1.1) 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.
Southbridge Town and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southbridge Town | C+ | 3.7 | 9.5 |
| Sturbridge | B− | 2.3 | 8.5 |
| Charlton | A− | 1.1 | 5.1 |
| Dudley | A− | 1.6 | 1.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Massachusetts towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southbridge Town | C+ | 3.7 | 9.5 |
| Concord | A− | 0.8 | 5.5 |
| Rockland | B | 2.4 | 3.6 |
| South Hadley | B | 1.7 | 7.1 |
| Bellingham | B− | 2.3 | 10.4 |
| Webster | C | 5.9 | 8.0 |
The five graded Massachusetts towns closest to Southbridge Town’s population (18,105), 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 Southbridge Town. 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 Southbridge Town’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (18,160 in 2025); our figure for Southbridge Town is 18,105 (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 Southbridge Town
Is Southbridge Town, MA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Southbridge Town reports more crime per resident than 63% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #237 of 276 in Massachusetts. Its police reported 3.7 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 Southbridge Town?
3.7 violent and 9.5 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 Southbridge Town safer than Sturbridge?
Sturbridge reports less crime per resident than Southbridge Town: Sturbridge grades B− for safety and Southbridge Town C+. Sturbridge’s police reported 2.3 violent and 8.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Southbridge Town?
Southbridge Town’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Southbridge”. 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 Southbridge Town.
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.