State profile · MA · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in Massachusetts

Federal Clery Act filings for all 134 tracked Massachusetts campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Bunker Hill Community College currently has the lowest rate.

134
Institutions tracked
2.43
Avg campus rate / 1k (133 of 134 scored)
2.63
Statewide rate / 1k
#42
Rank by avg campus rate
477,934
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Bunker Hill Community College has the lowest rate in Massachusetts

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 134 tracked campuses in Massachusetts, 60 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Bunker Hill Community College has the lowest rate at 0.10 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
134
average campus, per 1,000 (133 of 134 scored)
2.43
lowest nonzero rate - Bunker Hill Community
0.10
campuses at zero in score categories
60

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet MA · Massachusetts 2.43/1k campus avg · #42/59

RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT

  • RATE-MID 2.43/1k
  • RANK-LOWER #42/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Nebraska · ±0.01
  • ZERO-MIX 45% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −0.20
  • BOOK-FULL 133/134
  • CONC-FLAT top5 31%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Nebraska (-0.01/1k)

Massachusetts sheet RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT · peer Nebraska. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Nebraska (-0.01/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Bunker Hill Community College leads at 0.10/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Massachusetts's unweighted average campus rate is higher than most scored U.S. states (only 29% of states report a higher average). Even so, Bunker Hill Community College leads nonzero reporters here at 0.10/1k, with MCPHS University (0.17/1k); Massasoit Community College (0.18/1k) next. The five largest campuses account for 31% of enrollment, weigh large-campus rates separately from small ones.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around Massachusetts

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest Massachusetts on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around Massachusetts's 2.43/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in Massachusetts, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 73 Massachusetts campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Showing the top 50 here so the page stays crawlable; positions are numbered within the full nonzero group.

8
Regis CollegeWeston · 2,517 students
Enrollment
2,517
Incidents /1k
0.40
14
Quincy CollegeQuincy · 3,022 students
Enrollment
3,022
Incidents /1k
0.99
26
Boston CollegeChestnut Hill · 15,432 students
Enrollment
15,432
Incidents /1k
1.94
31
Fisher CollegeBoston · 1,652 students
Enrollment
1,652
Incidents /1k
2.42
40
Gordon CollegeWenham · 1,595 students
Enrollment
1,595
Incidents /1k
3.13
#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Bunker Hill Community CollegeBoston · 9,876 students9,8760.104% of the leader · rank #1
2MCPHS UniversityBoston · 5,945 students5,9450.174% of the leader · rank #2
3Massasoit Community CollegeBrockton · 5,574 students5,5740.184% of the leader · rank #3
4Massachusetts Bay Community CollegeWellesley Hills · 4,578 students4,5780.224% of the leader · rank #4
5Holyoke Community CollegeHolyoke · 4,200 students4,2000.244% of the leader · rank #5
6Mount Wachusett Community CollegeGardner · 3,694 students3,6940.274% of the leader · rank #6
7Cape Cod Community CollegeWest Barnstable · 3,260 students3,2600.314% of the leader · rank #7
8Regis CollegeWeston · 2,517 students2,5170.404% of the leader · rank #8
9Northern Essex Community CollegeHaverhill · 4,721 students4,7210.424% of the leader · rank #9
10Springfield Technical Community CollegeSpringfield · 5,447 students5,4470.554% of the leader · rank #10
11North Shore Community CollegeDanvers · 5,743 students5,7430.874% of the leader · rank #11
12Westfield State UniversityWestfield · 4,588 students4,5880.874% of the leader · rank #12
13University of Massachusetts-BostonBoston · 15,575 students15,5750.964% of the leader · rank #13
14Quincy CollegeQuincy · 3,022 students3,0220.994% of the leader · rank #14
15Western New England UniversitySpringfield · 3,674 students3,6741.094% of the leader · rank #15
16Northeastern UniversityBoston · 32,553 students32,5531.384% of the leader · rank #16
17Suffolk UniversityBoston · 6,356 students6,3561.424% of the leader · rank #17
18University of Massachusetts-DartmouthNorth Dartmouth · 7,968 students7,9681.514% of the leader · rank #18
19Boston UniversityBoston · 37,737 students37,7371.674% of the leader · rank #19
20Emerson CollegeBoston · 5,263 students5,2631.714% of the leader · rank #20
21Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley · 2,275 students2,2751.764% of the leader · rank #21
22Fitchburg State UniversityFitchburg · 5,892 students5,8921.874% of the leader · rank #22
23Merrimack CollegeNorth Andover · 5,862 students5,8621.884% of the leader · rank #23
24Worcester State UniversityWorcester · 5,745 students5,7451.914% of the leader · rank #24
25New England College of OptometryBoston · 515 students5151.944% of the leader · rank #25
26Boston CollegeChestnut Hill · 15,432 students15,4321.944% of the leader · rank #26
27Lesley UniversityCambridge · 2,557 students2,5571.964% of the leader · rank #27
28Framingham State UniversityFramingham · 4,002 students4,0022.255% of the leader · rank #28
29Brandeis UniversityWaltham · 5,205 students5,2052.315% of the leader · rank #29
30Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester · 7,584 students7,5842.375% of the leader · rank #30
31Fisher CollegeBoston · 1,652 students1,6522.426% of the leader · rank #31
32Bentley UniversityWaltham · 5,333 students5,3332.446% of the leader · rank #32
33Franklin W Olin College of EngineeringNeedham · 405 students4052.476% of the leader · rank #33
34Wellesley CollegeWellesley · 2,407 students2,4072.496% of the leader · rank #34
35Emmanuel CollegeBoston · 1,983 students1,9832.526% of the leader · rank #35
36University of Massachusetts-AmherstAmherst · 31,726 students31,7262.746% of the leader · rank #36
37University of Massachusetts-LowellLowell · 16,598 students16,5982.776% of the leader · rank #37
38Tufts UniversityMedford · 13,599 students13,5992.947% of the leader · rank #38
39Massachusetts College of Art and DesignBoston · 1,989 students1,9893.027% of the leader · rank #39
40Gordon CollegeWenham · 1,595 students1,5953.137% of the leader · rank #40
41Endicott CollegeBeverly · 4,394 students4,3943.197% of the leader · rank #41
42Bridgewater State UniversityBridgewater · 9,727 students9,7273.298% of the leader · rank #42
43Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge · 11,886 students11,8863.538% of the leader · rank #43
44Lasell UniversityNewton · 1,668 students1,6683.608% of the leader · rank #44
45Simmons UniversityBoston · 4,666 students4,6663.648% of the leader · rank #45
46Clark UniversityWorcester · 3,925 students3,9253.829% of the leader · rank #46
47Hult International Business SchoolCambridge · 2,008 students2,0083.989% of the leader · rank #47
48Berklee College of MusicBoston · 8,369 students8,3694.069% of the leader · rank #48
49National Aviation Academy of New EnglandConcord · 241 students2414.1510% of the leader · rank #49
50Anna Maria CollegePaxton · 1,202 students1,2024.1610% of the leader · rank #50

23 additional nonzero-reporting campuses rank below this top-50 list in the same rate order.

Look up any campus via the Campus Safety Incident Tool or browse all schools.

Unranked campuses (61): zero score or no normalized rate

60 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. 1 lack a normalized rate because no positive enrollment denominator is available. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 46 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
Alexander AcademyLunenburg · 39 students390.00
Assabet Valley Regional Technical SchoolMarlborough · 47 students470.00
Bay Path UniversityLongmeadow · 2,605 students2,6050.00
Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of TechnologyBoston · 744 students7440.00
Berkshire Community CollegePittsfield · 1,694 students1,6940.00
Blackstone Valley Vocational Regional School DistrictUpton · 42 students420.00
Blue Hills Regional Technical SchoolCanton0-
Boston Architectural CollegeBoston · 853 students8530.00
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis IncBrookline · 169 students1690.00
Bristol Community CollegeFall River · 6,950 students6,9500.00
Cambridge CollegeBoston · 1,835 students1,8350.00
Catherine Hinds Institute of EstheticsWoburn · 174 students1740.00
Charles H McCann Technical SchoolNorth Adams · 41 students410.00
COLLECTIV Academy-WorcesterWorcester · 192 students1920.00
College of Our Lady of the ElmsChicopee · 1,268 students1,2680.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in Massachusetts by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: Boston University (37,737); Northeastern University (32,553); University of Massachusetts-Amherst (31,726), then 130 more. The 15 biggest Massachusetts institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 31% of the 477,934 students enrolled across all 133 tracked Massachusetts institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Lasell University (1,668 students, 3.60/1k).

7
Boston CollegeChestnut Hill · 15,432 students
Enrollment
15,432
Incidents /1k
1.94
#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Boston UniversityBoston · 37,737 students37,737100% of the leader · rank #11.67
2Northeastern UniversityBoston · 32,553 students32,55386% of the leader · rank #21.38
3University of Massachusetts-AmherstAmherst · 31,726 students31,72684% of the leader · rank #32.74
4Harvard UniversityCambridge · 30,259 students30,25980% of the leader · rank #47.63
5University of Massachusetts-LowellLowell · 16,598 students16,59844% of the leader · rank #52.77
6University of Massachusetts-BostonBoston · 15,575 students15,57541% of the leader · rank #60.96
7Boston CollegeChestnut Hill · 15,432 students15,43241% of the leader · rank #71.94
8Tufts UniversityMedford · 13,599 students13,59936% of the leader · rank #82.94
9Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge · 11,886 students11,88631% of the leader · rank #93.53
10Bunker Hill Community CollegeBoston · 9,876 students9,87626% of the leader · rank #100.10
11Bridgewater State UniversityBridgewater · 9,727 students9,72726% of the leader · rank #113.29
12Middlesex Community CollegeBedford · 9,374 students9,37425% of the leader · rank #120.00
13Berklee College of MusicBoston · 8,369 students8,36922% of the leader · rank #134.06
14University of Massachusetts-DartmouthNorth Dartmouth · 7,968 students7,96821% of the leader · rank #141.51
15Quinsigamond Community CollegeWorcester · 7,811 students7,81121% of the leader · rank #150.00

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for Massachusetts: closest on tracked campus count (134 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (2.43/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Nebraska sits nearest on unweighted campus average (-0.01/1k). Inside Massachusetts, open Bunker Hill Community College's campus sheet next.

Bunker Hill Community College profile → | All states → | Massachusetts net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

Massachusetts campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in Massachusetts?

Among Massachusetts campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Bunker Hill Community College has the lowest rate (0.10 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: MCPHS University (0.17/1k); Massasoit Community College (0.18/1k). 60 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in Massachusetts?

In Massachusetts, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Bunker Hill Community College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.10/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in Massachusetts are compared?

This page covers 134 tracked higher-education institutions in Massachusetts, serving about 477,934 enrolled students combined across 72 cities. 73 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 61 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are Boston University (37,737); Northeastern University (32,553); University of Massachusetts-Amherst (31,726). Nearby state averages for context: Nebraska (2.42/1k); Alaska (2.41/1k); Washington (2.46/1k); North Dakota (2.38/1k); American Samoa (2.37/1k); Oregon (2.52/1k).

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.