SAFEROUTE

Safety index · Boston · data through October 2026

Is Chinatown, Boston safe?

Chinatown records more reported crime than most Boston neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 36 out of 100 — 18 points below the citywide median of 54, ranking 19th of 25 Boston neighborhoods — based on 1,803 incidents reported to the Boston Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to October 2026.

36/100
Elevated
SafeRoute safety index for the area within 1 km of the center of Chinatown — higher is safer. 19th of 25 Boston neighborhoods.

DATA THROUGH OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MONTHS OF DATA

The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Boston — a typical Boston neighborhood sits near 54. It ranks Chinatown against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.

The largest reported category here is shoplifting (27% of reports); the full mix is broken down below.

Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 28% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 20% overnight.

Where incidents cluster

Massachusetts TurnpikeJohn F. Fitzgerald Expressway neighborhood center 500 m N ↑
1 dot = 1 report · darker = more severe · rings every 250 m from the neighborhood center1,803 incidents reported within 1 km of the Chinatown center (500 shown) · Boston Police data through October 2026 · basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors. Reports cluster toward the north of the map — the area immediately around the neighborhood center is comparatively quiet.
Open Chinatown on the live interactive map →

What's reported here

Shoplifting
493 · 27%
Violent crime
383 · 21%
Drugs
232 · 13%
Other theft
207 · 11%
Public order
173 · 10%
Criminal damage & arson
70 · 4%

When it happens

6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aMON–FRI6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aSAT–SUN

Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.

Is Boston safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →

Walking in Chinatown at night?

SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same official crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Compare the routes and share your walk. Free, no account.

Get SafeRoute on the App Store

Nearby areas

Common questions

Is Chinatown safe at night?

Elevated overall (safety index 36/100). About 48% of severity-weighted incidents in Chinatown are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.

What is the most common crime in Chinatown?

Shoplifting — 493 of 1,803 incidents (27%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to October 2026.

How is the Chinatown safety index calculated?

SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the Boston Police Department by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the neighborhood center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within Boston, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.