Galveston is a city of 53,000 in Galveston County, about 45 miles southeast of downtown Houston · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Galveston?
Property crime in Galveston sits near the national middle: an A-, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 54% of Americans live. Theft makes up 62% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades A.
A-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 803 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
46% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Galveston as a whole, and 54% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Galveston scores 803.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Galveston, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Galveston, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Galveston
One part of Galveston stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Lasker Park & Kempner Park, in central Galveston, run at about triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Burglaries run high for a city with an A for property crime. Galveston has 2.6 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US city graded A for property crime, the figure is 1.2.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Galveston
Low property crime is the norm across Galveston: 76% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Property crime grades across Galveston run from A+ to C.
76%24%
A or B 76%C 24%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Lake Madeline, Barton Square & Central City Galveston, southwestBurglaries run at less than half the rate in the rest of Galveston.A851
2East End Historic District, Lindale & Harborview, northeastThefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Galveston.A-810
3Carver Park, northBurglaries run at about double the rate in the rest of Galveston.B+768
4Bayou Shore, westBurglaries run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Galveston.B+722
5Fort Crockett, southCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Galveston.B+705
6San Jacinto, eastThefts run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Galveston.B647
7Lasker Park & Kempner Park, centralThefts run at more than double the rate in the rest of Galveston.B-579
Neighborhood areas of Galveston, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is property crime going up in Galveston?
Reported property crime in Galveston has fallen 28% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 33 to 24 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
GalvestonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Galveston. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Galveston
Property, US
2016
+8%
+15%
2017
+8%
+12%
2018
-7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-4%
-8%
2021
-23%
-10%
2022
-5%
-6%
2023
-30%
-7%
2024
-28%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Galveston
CrimeGrade™ estimates Galveston has about 30 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 26% more than the US as a whole and close to Texas.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Galveston, about 62% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Galveston
Galveston has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Galveston, 71% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 36% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (71%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (33%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (38%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Galveston and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Galveston, 7 have less property crime. Santa Fe and Jamaica Beach have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Galveston. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Galveston has more property crime than 53% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Galveston apart: it has 16.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 17.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.16.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.17.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 94% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft.C (36 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.79 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 91% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 85% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Galveston: D+ (24 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Galveston
Property crime costs Galveston about $11 million a year, or $203 per resident and about $462 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$1.2 million
$23
Theft
$5.0 million
$95
Vehicle theft
$2.2 million
$41
Arson
$23,000
under $1
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$43
Total
$11 million
$203
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
