Do You Leave Your Doors Unlocked? Two Massachusetts Towns Named “Most Trusting”

There is a lot to love about living in Massachusetts. From its iconic Cape Cod beaches to the bustling Boston metro area to the peaceful hills of the Berkshires, there really is something for everyone in Massachusetts. Whether you were born and raised in Massachusetts or are a transplant to the best state in New England you know all it has to offer.

One of the many great things about Massachusetts is residents feel safe living here. It's statistically one of the safest states in the county, coming in at number seven in a ranking by U.S. News and World Reports. In fact, New England as a whole reported the lowest number of instances of violent crime and property crime per year.

While living in one of the safest states in the country is great, sometimes folks can take that for granted and can often become a little too comfortable. Not to take the doom and gloom angle but crime happens everywhere, even in the safest of places.

A recent survey by AutomateLife.net, a lifestyle site whose goal is to educate people about smart homes and discover products that might suit their home and living areas, took a look at the most trusting cities and towns in the U.S.

In order to reach their results the online resource used panel survey of 3,000 adults based on age, gender, and geography. Internal data sources are used to obtain population data sets. They used a two-step process to ensure representativeness through stratified sampling and post-stratification weighting.

The rankings show in which towns and cities across America residents would feel the most confident about leaving their doors unlocked at night.

Two Massachusetts Towns Most Likely to Leave Doors Unlocked

Based on the results of a survey of adults who would feel comfortable leaving their doors unlocked at nighttime, two Massachusetts towns landed on a list of the most trusting in the country.

Landing at number five was Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Barnstable is a medium-sized coastal city with a population of 49,583 people and 11 constituent neighborhoods. Based on FBI crime data analysis, there's a 1 in 94 chance of becoming a victim of crime in Barnstable. When comparing Barnstable to other Massachusetts communities, its crime rate is lower than about 25% of them. And when looking at communities with similar population sizes in the rest of the country, Barnstable's crime rate is notably lower than the average.

Coming in at number 20 was Amherst, Massachusetts

Amherst is a medium-sized college city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts with a popular 39,263 making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst among others. Based on FBI crime data analysis, there's a 1 in 486 chance of becoming a victim of crime in Amherst. Amherst is 61% safer than other neighborhoods in the United States.

Hollister, California came in at number one and was named the "most trusting" city in the United States.

While only two Massachusetts towns made the list, there were a handful of other New England cities and towns that made appearances:

8. Bristol, Rhode Island

25. South Kingston, Rhode Island

33. Dover, New Hampshire

38.  Derry, New Hampshire

60. Windham, Connecticut