Massachusetts, a Trump target, reported low crime rates in 2024
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Massachusetts reported one of the nation's lowest homicide rates last year, per FBI data.
Why it matters: President Trump has cited concerns about violent crime in threatening to send the National Guard to Democrat-controlled cities in blue states.
- However, a state-by-state comparison paints a complex picture of U.S. crime trends, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
The latest: Trump plans to escalate immigration enforcement in Chicago and Boston, Axios' Brittany Gibson reported this week.
- Trump also vowed to send the National Guard to Chicago, mirroring recent deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
By the numbers: Massachusetts' homicide rate was two per 100,000 people in 2024, tying with seven states for the second-lowest rate.
- New Hampshire was the only state to report only one homicide per 100,000 people.
- Massachusetts reported a violent crime rate of nearly 300 per 100,000 people — below the national average and far below the two highest violent crime rates in Alaska and Washington, D.C.
- Overall, Massachusetts fell in the middle of the pack when it came to its violent crime rate, per the FBI data.
Context: This comes shortly after a Trump administration official suggested the feds were considering a South Station takeover, calling the station dirty and unsafe.
- But MBTA Transit Police have only reported a few dozen incidents in recent years, including 30 in 2024 and 22 so far in 2025, per the Boston Globe.
What we're watching: A federal judge ruled this week that the military deployment to Los Angeles was illegal. Trump has appealed the ruling.