Crime in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Updated ·Vorp Labs
The model puts major crime in Chelmsford at 58% below the U.S. rate per resident: 61% lower for persons crimes and 57% lower for property crimes. Expected major crimes are down 31.2% from a year earlier.
- Modeled from FBI crime data for the police agencies serving Chelmsford. Where an agency didn't report to the FBI, its totals are estimated from its past reports or similar agencies.
- The model estimates about 7.3 major crimes per 1,000 residents a year (1.2 violent, 6.1 property), against 17.2 for the U.S.
- By the model's major-crime rate per resident, Chelmsford is lower than 61% of the 193 other Massachusetts places and 68% of the 8,446 other places nationwide on CrimeMetric.
Where these numbers come from
The estimates start from what police agencies report to the FBI, modeled across Chelmsford's 23 census block groups for 38,939 residents. How Massachusetts residents' crime totals reach the FBI: detailed incident reports for 98.4%, summary counts only for 0.2% and no reporting agency of their own for 1.3% (shares of 2020 residents). Sources · Method
- Year: many show an agency's last full FBI year (often two years back). These figures are the model's estimate for the current year, release 2026-11-10.
- Crimes counted: some add simple assault, vandalism or drug offenses to "violent" or "property" crime; here major crime is persons plus property crime, and social disorder is separate.
- Area: an agency's totals cover its jurisdiction, which can differ from the city's limits; these are summed over the block groups inside Chelmsford.
- Scale: a grade or a 1-to-100 score ranks places against each other; a rate per 1,000 residents and an index against the U.S. rate don't.
Rates are the model's estimates of reported crime per 1,000 residents a year. Index: 100 is the U.S. rate per resident; 200 is twice it. How we calculated this
How crime varies across Chelmsford
Half of residents live where the major-crime index is between 13 and 43.
- 0–5077.5%
- 50–10012.1%
- 100–2008.6%
- 200–4001.8%
- 400+0.0%
Check an address in Chelmsford
Shoplifting stands out most, at 20% above the U.S. rate
Citywide indexWhere the middle half of residents live
Property crimes
Social disorder
Highest on weekday daytimes
100 is the U.S. rate, same hours.
Expected major crime fell 31.2% in a year; across Massachusetts it fell 5.7%
Change in the model's expected crimes, not a count of reports; Massachusetts in gray. 2031 is a model projection, not tested against past years.
Chelmsford against U.S. places with 25,000 to 50,000 residents
811 of the 1,120 other places of this size have a major-crime index at least 15% above Chelmsford's, and 140 are within 15% of it; the middle of the group is 73. The 9 nearest in population:
U.S. = 100. Residents in gray.
Chelmsford's major-crime index is higher than 5, lower than 1 and within 15% of 2 of its 8 nearest neighbors
The closest, Lowell (3 mi), is 2.3 times Chelmsford's rate.
U.S. = 100. Miles between population centers.
Questions about crime in Chelmsford
Is Chelmsford safe?
Chelmsford's major-crime index is 43, 58% below the U.S. rate per resident and lower than 61% of the 193 other Massachusetts places on CrimeMetric: violent crimes against people are 61% below the U.S. rate, and property crimes 57% below the U.S. rate.
What is the crime rate in Chelmsford?
The model expects about 284 major crimes a year in Chelmsford, about 7.3 per 1,000 residents, 58% below the U.S. rate.
Is crime going up or down in Chelmsford?
Expected major crimes in Chelmsford are down 31.2% from a year earlier; across Massachusetts they're down 5.7%.
What are the most common crimes in Chelmsford?
By the model's expected count, the most common crimes against people and property are shoplifting (about 148 a year), other larceny (about 58 a year) and aggravated assault (about 40 a year).
Are car break-ins common in Chelmsford?
The model expects about 10 thefts from vehicles a year in Chelmsford, 90% below the U.S. rate per resident.
Are car thefts common in Chelmsford?
The model expects about 9 motor vehicle thefts a year in Chelmsford, 86% below the U.S. rate per resident.
Is Chelmsford safe at night?
The model's major-crime index is 27 on Sunday to Thursday nights from 6pm to 6am, against 57 at its highest in the daytime; 100 is the U.S. rate for the same hours. That's a citywide estimate per resident for those hours: it can't speak to a particular street, venue or evening. For one address, use the address lookup on this page.
Is crime in Chelmsford higher than the Massachusetts average?
Chelmsford's major-crime index is 43, 42% below the Massachusetts rate per resident. Massachusetts as a whole is 74, where 100 is the U.S. rate.
How does crime in Chelmsford compare with Lowell?
Lowell, 3 miles away, has a major-crime index of 98, 2.3 times Chelmsford's rate per resident. Chelmsford's is 43.
How we calculated this
Each police agency's crimes, as reported to the FBI or estimated where it didn't report, are spread across the census block groups it serves using population, jobs, points of interest and, where available, local incident records. Chelmsford's figures add up its 23 block groups. The index compares crimes per resident with the U.S. rate.
- Chelmsford has no published incident records in our data, so its estimate relies on agency totals and neighborhood characteristics.
- Rates are per resident, so places where many people work or visit but few live, such as downtowns, airports and stadiums, can read high.
- Disorderly conduct and trespassing are modeled, because the FBI records them only through arrests.
- Residents: 38,939. Model updated Nov 10, 2026. Release 2026-11-10
Full method and validation·Data sources
CrimeMetric. "Crime in Chelmsford, Massachusetts." Vorp Labs, updated November 9, 2026 (model Nov 10, 2026). https://crimemetric.com/ma/chelmsford
Quote this page's aggregate figures with a link to it. Data terms
Use these numbers in your product
Any U.S. address by API or MCP, free for 10,000 lookups a month.
Get a free API keyNearest cities we publish
Major-crime index, U.S. = 100
- Lowell3 mi98
- Dracut6 mi33
- Billerica6 mi23
- Tewksbury7 mi48
- Pinehurst8 mi26
- Pelham, NH9 mi26
- Wilmington10 mi42
- West Concord11 mi35