Crime in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Chelsea's crime rate

There were 864 crimes reported in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,134 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Chelsea compare?

Chelsea has a lower overall crime rate than the country as a whole. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Chelsea's overall crime rate is 42% higher than the overall crime rate in Massachusetts. Statewide, there were 103,895 crimes reported in 2019, or 1,507 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Chelsea, however, property crimes account for only about 69% of all offenses.

Property crime is less prevalent in Chelsea than it is nationwide. There were 594 property crimes in Chelsea in 2019, or 1,467 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Chelsea. There were 406 larcenies reported in Chelsea in 2019, or 1,003 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 105 break-ins reported in Chelsea in 2019, or 259 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Chelsea, meanwhile, there were 83 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 205 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Chelsea, however, violent offenses account for a much larger 31% share of all reported crime.

At 667 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Chelsea is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Chelsea reported a total of 270 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Chelsea. There were 178 aggravated assaults reported in Chelsea in 2019, or 440 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 65 robberies reported in Chelsea in 2019, a rate of 161 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 27 rapes reported in Chelsea in 2019, or 67 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

While there were 16,425 murders nationwide in 2019, none were reported in Chelsea.

Chelsea compared to other cities in Massachusetts

Chelsea has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Massachusetts. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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