Lancaster is a city of 43,600 in Dallas County, about 12 miles south of downtown Dallas · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Lancaster?
Lancaster grades B for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live. Theft makes up 53% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, and vehicle theft grades B.
B
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 637 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Lancaster as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lancaster scores 637.
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 Lancaster, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lancaster, 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 Lancaster
Car thefts run high. Lancaster has car thefts at about double the US rate: 5.3 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Lancaster
Areas graded C for property crime are home to 52% of residents in Lancaster; 42% live in areas graded A or B and 6% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Lancaster run from A- to D+.
42%52%
A or B 42%C 52%D or F 6%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Lancaster?
Reported property crime in Lancaster has risen 19% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 26 to 31 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
LancasterUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Lancaster. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Lancaster
Property, US
2016
+25%
+15%
2017
+29%
+12%
2018
-3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-11%
-8%
2021
-1%
-10%
2022
+19%
-6%
2023
+17%
-7%
2024
+19%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Lancaster
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lancaster has about 33 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 38% more than the US as a whole and 21% more than 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 Lancaster, about 53% 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.
The Lancaster Police Department's 2024 report of burglary had a month far out of line with the rest, a sign of a data-entry error or a catch-up month, so CrimeGrade™ set it aside and used the other months.
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 Lancaster
Lancaster has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Lancaster, 51% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 36% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (51%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Lancaster and nearby cities
Lancaster has more property crime than 5 of its 9 nearest cities. Ovilla and Oak Leaf have the least property crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Lancaster. 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, Lancaster has more property crime than 87% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Lancaster apart: it has 6.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (8 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 87% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 73% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 66% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.10% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 60% 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 Lancaster
Property crime costs Lancaster about $11 million a year, or $252 per resident and about $748 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
$1.6 million
$37
Theft
$3.8 million
$88
Vehicle theft
$3.6 million
$82
Arson
$110,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.8 million
$42
Total
$11 million
$252
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.
