Larceny-theft — defined as the unlawful taking of property — is the most common form of property crime in the United States. Pickpocketing, shoplifting, and bicycle theft are some common examples of larceny. While larceny includes theft of property of any value, the vast majority of larceny cases reported are of items worth $200 or more, according to the FBI.

Larceny has become far less common in the U.S. in recent years. In the last decade, the number of reported larceny cases fell by nearly 19%. In 2019, the most recent year of available data, the FBI tallied about 5.1 million cases of larceny nationwide — or 1,550 incidents for every 100,000 people.

In Stow, Massachusetts, larceny is far less common than it is nationwide. In 2019, a total of 8 larceny-thefts were reported in the city — or 111 for every 100,000 people.

The FBI tracked cases of larceny in 4,555 U.S. cities with populations of at least 5,000 in 2019, and all but eight of those cities reported at least one larceny-theft that year. Of the 4,547 cities to report one or more incidents of larceny, Stow ranks No. 4,511 by larceny-theft rate, which puts it in the top 10% lowest larceny rate U.S. cities.

Just as larceny-theft is less common in Stow than it is nationwide, it is also less common in Massachusetts than it is nationwide. There were a total of 62,844 cases of larceny reported in Massachusetts in 2019, or 912 for every 100,000 people. Of all 50 states, Massachusetts has the lowest larceny rate.

The larceny-theft rate in Stow ranks as No. 234 of the 240 cities in Massachusetts tracked by the FBI.

Across the United States, larceny-theft contributes more to the overall property crime rate than any other type of offense. Partially because Stow’s larceny-theft rate is lower than the national average, the city’s overall property crime rate is too. There were a total of 166 property crimes reported for every 100,000 people in Stow in 2019, compared to 2,110 per 100,000 people nationwide.

It is important to note that in smaller cities, like Stow, which is home to just 7,230 people, even a handful of incidents of larceny-theft can drive up the larceny rate substantially. As a result, the larceny rate in Stow is more subject to year-over-year volatility compared to larger cities.

Larceny-theft is just one type of crime tracked by the FBI. To provide a more comprehensive view of overall crime levels across the country, 24/7 Wall St. recently published extensive crime reports with data visualizations for over 4,000 cities and all 50 states. These reports contain all components of property and violent crime tracked by the FBI. Click here to see the full list of cities with visualized data.

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