Mesa is the third-largest city in Arizona, with 539,500 residents in Maricopa County, about 20 miles east of downtown Phoenix · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Mesa?
Mesa earns an A- for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 56% of Americans live. Theft makes up 64% 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 785 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
44% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Mesa as a whole, and 56% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Mesa scores 785.
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 Mesa, AZ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Mesa, 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 Mesa
One part of Mesa stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in West Central & Central Mesa, in west Mesa, run at about triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Vandalism runs low. Mesa has 2.3 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 5.5.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Mesa
Most of Mesa grades well for property crime: 84% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Mesa run from A+ to F.
84%12%
A or B 84%C 12%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Southeast Mesa, southeastCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Mesa.A882
2Northeast, northCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Mesa.A874
3Southwest Mesa, southwestCar thefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Mesa.B+742
5West Central & Central Mesa, westBurglaries run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Mesa.B-604
Neighborhood areas of Mesa, 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 Mesa?
Reported property crime in Mesa has fallen 22% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 19 to 15 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 11%.
Property crime, change since 2019
MesaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Mesa. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Mesa
Property, US
2016
+22%
+15%
2017
+14%
+12%
2018
+6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+4%
-8%
2021
+6%
-10%
2022
-4%
-6%
2023
-12%
-7%
2024
-22%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Mesa
CrimeGrade™ estimates Mesa has about 18 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 25% less than the US as a whole and 26% less than Arizona.
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 Mesa, about 64% 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 Mesa Police Department counts vandalism differently from the national definition, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.
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 Mesa
Mesa has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Mesa, 53% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 45% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (53%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (39%)
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 Mesa and nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Mesa, 6 have less property crime. Fort McDowell and Queen Creek have the least.
Mesa looks like a typical city on the traits that tend to go with property crime.
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 77% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 67% 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. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 53% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 67% 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.28% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 66% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 65% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Mesa on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Mesa
Property crime costs Mesa about $68 million a year, or $126 per resident and about $334 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
$9.4 million
$17
Theft
$32 million
$58
Vehicle theft
$17 million
$31
Arson
$1.0 million
$2
Vandalism
$9.0 million
$17
Total
$68 million
$126
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.
