MA
Northeastern University
1.38 incidents / 1,000 students
Boston, MA · Clery Act 2024 · Private Nonprofit
Northeastern University
Across 2022–2024, Northeastern University reported 95 incidents in the Clery Criminal Offenses section, and the yearly count fell over that span (largest filed category: Rape). Nearby same-state same-level comparison: University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
- 1.38
- Incidents / 1k students
- #792
- Rank of 2,072
- #33
- MA rank
- 32,553
- Enrolled students
1.38 reported score-category incidents per 1,000 students
Northeastern University reports 1.38 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 43% below University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Similar-enrollment scored peers: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (4.04/1k); Weber State University (1.28/1k); University of Nevada-Las Vegas (3.16/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); California State University-Sacramento (3.73/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2.74/1k); Harvard University (7.63/1k); Boston University (1.67/1k); University of Massachusetts-Lowell (2.77/1k); University of Massachusetts-Boston (0.96/1k); Boston College (1.94/1k); Tufts University (2.94/1k); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3.53/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Rape.
Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
- incidents / 1,000 students
- 1.38
- of 2,072 ranked nationally
- #792
- safer than ranked campuses its size
- 62%
- Criminal Offenses, 2024
- 26
Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
Data updated August 2026
Clery Act plate
Sheet 167358 · Northeastern University 1.38/1k score rate · #792/2,072
RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · ST-MID · PEER-FINISH · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-REPORT
- RATE-LOW 1.38/1k
- RANK-MID #792/2,072
- ST-MID #33 in state
- PEER-FINISH Weber State University · ±0.10
- ZERO-NONE Scored
- TREND-DOWN ↓ 38%
- CAT-LEAD Rape
- ENR-LARGE 32,553
- FIRE-REPORT 3 fires
Nearest enrollment peer: Weber State University (-0.10/1k)
Northeastern University sheet RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · ST-MID · PEER-FINISH · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-REPORT · peer Weber State University. Codes from this campus OPE filing: score-category rate, national/state rank, named enrollment peer, zero posture, Criminal Offenses trend, lead category, enrollment band, fire filing. Not a moving recommendation.
Clery plate RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · ST-MID · PEER-FINISH · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-REPORT. Nearest similar-enrollment peer is Weber State University (-0.10/1k). National rank #792 of 2,072 scored campuses. Instrument codes from this campus OPE sheet; compare similarly sized peers before treating any single rate as decisive.
Northeastern University reports 1.38 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 43% below University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Similar-enrollment scored peers: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (4.04/1k); Weber State University (1.28/1k); University of Nevada-Las Vegas (3.16/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); California State University-Sacramento (3.73/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2.74/1k); Harvard University (7.63/1k); Boston University (1.67/1k); University of Massachusetts-Lowell (2.77/1k); University of Massachusetts-Boston (0.96/1k); Boston College (1.94/1k); Tufts University (2.94/1k); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3.53/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Rape.
Peer-rate neighbourhood around Northeastern University
Lowest/highest enrollment peers plus campuses nearest Northeastern on score-category rate. Full ladder: /rankings/safest-campuses.
- Chamberlain University-Illinois · lowest peer 0
Chamberlain University-Illinois — lowest peer
0 per 1,000 students
- Weber State University · near 1.28
Weber State University — near
1.28 per 1,000 students
- Northeastern University · this campus 1.38
Northeastern University — this campus
1.38 per 1,000 students
- University of Nevada-Las Vegas · near
University of Nevada-Las Vegas — near
3.16 per 1,000 students
- University of North Carolina · highest peer
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — highest peer
4.04 per 1,000 students
What this shows Neighbourhood of similar-enrollment peers around Northeastern University's 1.38/1k rate, not a full-corpus distribution reprint.
Reporting-period change
What changed in 2024
Northeastern University decreased from 27 to 26 reported on-campus incidents between the 2023 and 2024 reporting years in the U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey.
This is a change in reported incidents, not a measure of individual safety. Enrollment, reporting practice, and category coverage can affect the count.
See national reporting-year changesSignature insight · size does not equal danger
Campus size vs reported safety rate
Among 37 MA 4-year peers in this comparison, Northeastern University is larger than 97% and safer-reporting than 83% - the larger, safer-reporting quadrant. Axes are within-sample percentiles so outliers share the same frame; a higher safety percentile means a lower Clery incidents-per-1,000 rate.
Read the chart as text
- Point 1: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 94, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 44
- Point 2: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 92, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 8
- Point 3: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 100, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 75
- Point 4: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 89, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 42
- Point 5: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 86, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 92
- Point 6: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 83, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 61
- Point 7: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 81, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 39
- Point 8: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 78, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 31
- Point 9: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 75, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 33
- Point 10: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 72, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 22
- Point 11: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 69, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 78
- Point 12: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 67, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 50
- Point 13: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 64, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 81
- Point 14: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 61, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 19
- Point 15: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 58, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 97
- Point 16: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 56, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 69
- Point 17: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 53, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 67
- Point 18: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 50, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 64
- Point 19: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 47, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 47
- Point 20: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 44, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 72
- Point 21: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 42, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 53
- Point 22: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 39, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 28
- Point 23: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 36, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 94
- Point 24: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 33, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 36
- Point 25: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 31, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 3
- Point 26: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 28, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 56
- Point 27: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 25, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 0
- Point 28: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 22, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 25
- Point 29: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 19, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 86
- Point 30: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 17, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 11
- Point 31: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 14, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 89
- Point 32: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 11, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 17
- Point 33: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 8, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 14
- Point 34: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 6, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 100
- Point 35: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 3, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 6
- Point 36: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 0, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 58
- Northeastern University: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 97, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 83
Read the chart as a table
| Campus | Enrollment | Rate / 1k | Size pct | Safety pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesley University | 2,557 | 1.96 | 0 | 58 |
| Springfield College | 2,599 | 9.23 | 3 | 6 |
| Bay Path University | 2,605 | 0.00 | 6 | 100 |
| Stonehill College | 2,674 | 5.98 | 8 | 14 |
| Smith College | 2,857 | 4.90 | 11 | 17 |
| Quincy College | 3,022 | 0.99 | 14 | 89 |
| College of the Holy Cross | 3,126 | 6.72 | 17 | 11 |
| Western New England University | 3,674 | 1.09 | 19 | 86 |
| Clark University | 3,925 | 3.82 | 22 | 25 |
| Babson College | 3,932 | 10.68 | 25 | 0 |
| Framingham State University | 4,002 | 2.25 | 28 | 56 |
| Northeastern University (this campus) | 32,553 | 1.38 | 97 | 83 |
Sample of 12 campuses from the plot (sorted by enrollment). Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey + IPEDS enrollment. Rate = on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students; lower is safer-reporting, not a personal-risk forecast.
Enrollment scale
How campus size shapes the safety figures
With 32,553 enrolled students, Northeastern University is the 91st largest of the 5,585 institutions in this dataset with a reported enrollment, ahead of 5,494 of them. Closest same-state same-level scored peers by enrollment: University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2.74/1k); Harvard University (7.63/1k); Boston University (1.67/1k); University of Massachusetts-Lowell (2.77/1k); University of Massachusetts-Boston (0.96/1k); Boston College (1.94/1k); Tufts University (2.94/1k); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3.53/1k). The score above normalizes 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students, so compare it with similarly sized campuses instead of treating a higher raw count as evidence that a campus is less safe (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the nearest similar-enrollment comparison on this profile).
What changed between 2023 and 2024
Reported on-campus incidents at Northeastern University fell from 27 to 26 (-4%). The increase shows up in Rape (8 to 10) and Aggravated Assault (1 to 2). Falling over the same period: Fondling (5 to 3), Arson (1 to 0) and Burglary (9 to 8).
This describes reported incidents, not crime. Clery counts move with reporting policy, awareness campaigns and how a campus staffs its security authorities, so a rise can reflect better capture of reports and a fall can reflect worse capture. One year of movement at a single campus is not a trend.
What actually gets reported at Northeastern University
Across 3 reporting years, on-campus incidents were recorded in 7 Clery Act categories here: Rape, Burglary, Fondling, Motor Vehicle Theft, Aggravated Assault, Robbery and Arson.
The remaining 4 categories were reported with no on-campus incidents, Incest, Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Negligent Manslaughter and Statutory Rape. Under the Clery Act that zero is an affirmative report that nothing in the category occurred, not an absence of data, which is why the table below lists those rows rather than dropping them.
Counts describe incidents reported under the Clery Act for the on-campus geography. Reporting practice varies between institutions, so counts are not a direct measure of relative safety.
Crime Statistics by Year
11 categories 3 reporting years on-campus onlyNortheastern University: Criminal Offenses by year
Declining 38% (42 → 26 incidents)
Read the chart as text
| Period | On-campus incidents |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 42 |
| 2023 | 27 |
| 2024 | 26 |
| Crime Type | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rape | 10 | 8 | 11 |
| Burglary | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Fondling | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Aggravated Assault | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Robbery | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Arson | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Incest | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Statutory Rape | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: US Dept of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey. Table figures show the Criminal Offenses section; other Clery tables are separate
Fire Safety
| Year | Fires | Inj. | Deaths | Cat I | Cat II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Arrests & Disciplinary Actions
81 category-year records| Category | Year | Arrests | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 2 | 2 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 187 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
Northeastern University vs peer institutions
Side-by-side safety scores for 3 peers of similar enrollment
Scores are $2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students (lower is fewer in those categories).
NC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
4.04 incidents / 1,000 students
UT
Weber State University
1.28 incidents / 1,000 students
Cost context
Where Northeastern University sits on price and outcomes
At $30,915, Northeastern University's reported average net price is cheaper than 76% among 117 Massachusetts colleges with a reported figure. The state median is $24,402.
- $30,915
- average net price
- $24,402
- Massachusetts median
- 3.2×
- six-year earnings to median debt
- $45,432
- reported income-bracket spread
Aid here is steeply income-scaled. Families reporting under $30,000 of income record a net price of $2,264, while those above $110,000 record $47,696 - roughly 21.1 times as much. A published average of $30,915 therefore describes very few families well; the bracket nearest your own income is the more useful figure.
Median reported earnings six years after entry are $78,413, roughly 2.5 times a year of net price. That is a workable ratio, though it says nothing about how long the programme takes to finish.
Average net price reflects grant and scholarship aid for aided students, not a personal offer. Earnings cover former students who received federal aid; neither measure predicts an individual's outcome.
Academic & Financial Profile
Tuition & Costs
- In-State Tuition
- $66,162
- Out-of-State Tuition
- $66,162
- Avg Net Price
- $30,915
- Median Debt
- $24,250
- Pell Grant Recipients
- 12%
Admissions
- Acceptance Rate
- 5%
- SAT Average
- 1497
- SAT Math Range
- 730-780
- ACT Average
- 34
- ACT Range
- 33-35
Outcomes
- 4-Year Graduation Rate
- 90%
- Retention Rate
- 97%
- Median Earnings (6yr)
- $78,413
- Median Earnings (10yr)
- $92,538
- Loan Repayment (3yr)
- 87%
Source: IPEDS & College Scorecard. Methodology.
Similar Institutions
Showing 5 of 265 similar institutions by enrollment size.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC · 32,438 enrolled
Safety Score 4.04
Weber State University
Ogden, UT · 32,701 enrolled
Safety Score 1.28
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV · 32,911 enrolled
Safety Score 3.16
Chamberlain University-Illinois
Addison, IL · 32,944 enrolled
Safety Score 0.00
California State University-Sacramento
Sacramento, CA · 31,943 enrolled
Safety Score 3.73
Closest by National Rank
Northeastern University (national rank #792) sits near First Coast Technical College (#791) and New York University (#793) on the scored national list, nearest by rank, not by size or state.
Nationwide campuses with similar scale or Clery rate
Two Clery-derived peer sets for Northeastern University, both outside MA so the neighborhoods are not state containment (Similar Institutions and national-rank neighbors above stay enrollment- or rank-based).
Similar enrollment (nationwide)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC · 32,438 enrolled
Safety score 4.04
Weber State University
Ogden, UT · 32,701 enrolled
Safety score 1.28
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV · 32,911 enrolled
Safety score 3.16
Chamberlain University-Illinois
Addison, IL · 32,944 enrolled
Safety score 0.00
California State University-Sacramento
Sacramento, CA · 31,943 enrolled
Safety score 3.73
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY · 31,903 enrolled
Safety score 1.88
Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO · 31,830 enrolled
Safety score 0.00
San Jacinto Community College
Pasadena, TX · 31,812 enrolled
Safety score 0.31
Similar 2024 Clery rate (nationwide)
New York University
New York, NY · 56,832 enrolled
Safety score 1.39
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH · 12,204 enrolled
Safety score 1.39
Peninsula College
Port Angeles, WA · 2,153 enrolled
Safety score 1.39
Benedictine University
Lisle, IL · 2,917 enrolled
Safety score 1.37
Indiana University-Kokomo
Kokomo, IN · 2,921 enrolled
Safety score 1.37
Misericordia University
Dallas, PA · 2,200 enrolled
Safety score 1.36
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA · 41,137 enrolled
Safety score 1.36
Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion
Marion, IN · 2,204 enrolled
Safety score 1.36
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Northeastern University safe?
Northeastern University has a safety score of 1.38 (2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students) and ranks #792 nationally out of 2,072 ranked institutions - nearest similar-enrollment comparison: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (4.04/1k). Same-state same-level set: University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2.74/1k); Harvard University (7.63/1k); Boston University (1.67/1k); University of Massachusetts-Lowell (2.77/1k); University of Massachusetts-Boston (0.96/1k); Boston College (1.94/1k); Tufts University (2.94/1k); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3.53/1k).
What crimes are reported at Northeastern University?
For calendar year 2024, Northeastern University reported Rape (10), Burglary (8), Fondling (3), Aggravated Assault (2) and Motor Vehicle Theft (2), and 1 further category in the Criminal Offenses section. Every other category in that section was reported at zero; other Clery tables are separate.
How does Northeastern University compare to similar schools?
Northeastern University reports 43% fewer 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 than University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Scored similar-enrollment peers on this page: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (4.04/1k); Weber State University (1.28/1k); University of Nevada-Las Vegas (3.16/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); California State University-Sacramento (3.73/1k). Same-state same-level set: University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2.74/1k); Harvard University (7.63/1k); Boston University (1.67/1k); University of Massachusetts-Lowell (2.77/1k); University of Massachusetts-Boston (0.96/1k); Boston College (1.94/1k); Tufts University (2.94/1k); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3.53/1k).
Does Northeastern University have fire safety data?
Yes. Northeastern University reports fire safety data for on-campus residential facilities, including total fires, injuries, deaths, and fire damage categories. 3 fires were reported in the most recent year.
Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice.