Malden, MA Crime Map

Malden, MA Safety Profile: What the Data Actually Shows

With a population of 60,710 and an overall crime grade of D+, Malden presents a more nuanced safety picture than that headline figure suggests. Across 18 analyzed neighborhoods, 67% earned an A or B grade, meaning the majority of the city where most residents actually live skews considerably safer than the citywide score implies. Only 6% of neighborhoods fall into the D or F range, and no neighborhood received an F. The city-wide safety rating, when averaged across all areas, lands at a moderate C — a meaningful distinction from the D+ overall grade.

Safest and Highest-Crime Neighborhoods

The safest corner of Malden is Upper Highlands, the only neighborhood to earn an A grade, with a median household income of $110,593 and a population of just over 3,200. Close behind are several B+ neighborhoods that collectively house a large share of residents: Maplewood (median income $85,976), Maplewood Highlands ($104,038), Oak Grove ($117,289), and Belmont ($91,375) all demonstrate that higher incomes correlate with stronger safety outcomes here. Linden, Edgeworth, and Forestdale also hold B+ grades with incomes ranging from roughly $70,000 to $77,000, showing that safer conditions are not exclusively confined to the city's wealthiest pockets. On the other end of the spectrum, Island Hill is the only D-grade neighborhood in the dataset, while Downtown earns a C-, making it the second area of concern. Bell Rock, Industrial Park, and Suffolk Square each hold a C+, placing them in a middle tier that warrants awareness without alarm.

How Crime Grades Are Distributed Across the City

The grade distribution across Malden's 18 neighborhoods tells a story of concentrated safety in most residential areas. A single neighborhood — just 5.6% of those analyzed — earned an A, while 11 neighborhoods, or 61.1%, landed in the B range. Five neighborhoods, representing 27.8%, scored at the C level, and one neighborhood accounted for the sole D grade at 5.6%. The absence of any F-grade neighborhood is notable for a city with a 15.6% poverty rate and 6.7% unemployment. That economic stress is real, but it has not produced widespread severe crime conditions across the neighborhood fabric.

Property Crime vs. Violent Crime Patterns

In a densely populated city like Malden — at 4,646 residents per square mile — property crime tends to be the dominant driver of lower neighborhood grades. Areas like Downtown and Industrial Park, which see heavier foot traffic and commercial activity, are more exposed to theft, vehicle break-ins, and opportunistic offenses than quieter residential corridors. Violent crime, while present, is more concentrated and does not define the experience across most of the city's B-grade neighborhoods. The contrast between Island Hill's D+ and Upper Highlands' A reflects differences in both crime type and frequency, with residential stability and higher incomes in Upper Highlands acting as consistent buffers against both categories.

Using the Crime Map to Make Informed Decisions

For the many commuters who travel through Malden on their way into Boston, the interactive crime map helps identify which routes and transit-adjacent areas carry more risk at different times of day — Downtown's C- grade is worth factoring into evening commute decisions, for instance. Home buyers evaluating a median home value of $445,848 can use neighborhood-level grades to compare Upper Highlands or Maplewood Highlands against lower-priced options in Bell Rock or Suffolk Square, weighing safety data alongside price. Renters considering Malden's median rent of $1,650 will find the map equally useful for comparing the West End's B grade against areas closer to Downtown. The map transforms raw incident data into a practical decision-making tool, whether you are relocating, investing, or simply trying to understand the block you already live on.