San Marcos is a city of 82,900 in Hays County, about 30 miles southwest of downtown Austin · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in San Marcos?
Property crime in San Marcos sits near the national middle: a B+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 59% of Americans live. Theft makes up 60% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades B+.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 765 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
41% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than San Marcos as a whole, and 59% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. San Marcos scores 765.
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 San Marcos, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in San Marcos, 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 San Marcos
Car thefts run high in Downtown Association & Victory Gardens. In this part of central San Marcos, they run at more than triple the rate in the rest of San Marcos.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In San Marcos, 67% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in San Marcos
Low property crime is the norm across San Marcos: 81% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across San Marcos run from A+ to F.
81%15%
A or B 81%C 15%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Oak Heights, northwestBurglaries run at less than half the rate in the rest of San Marcos.A879
2Forest Hills, northThefts run at about half the rate in the rest of San Marcos.A-799
3Millview East, northeastCar thefts run about 30% higher here than in the rest of San Marcos.B+746
4Sunset Acres, southBurglaries run about 60% higher here than in the rest of San Marcos.B+718
5Blanco Gardens, eastCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of San Marcos.B-615
6Downtown Association & Victory Gardens, centralBurglaries run about 70% higher here than in the rest of San Marcos.C+523
Neighborhood areas of San Marcos, 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 San Marcos?
Reported property crime in San Marcos peaked in 2022 and has fallen 14% since, back near its 2019 level. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 24 to 22 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
San MarcosUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves San Marcos. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, San Marcos
Property, US
2016
+37%
+15%
2017
+0%
+12%
2018
-6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-11%
-8%
2021
+1%
-10%
2022
+8%
-6%
2023
-4%
-7%
2024
-7%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in San Marcos
CrimeGrade™ estimates San Marcos has about 25 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 6% 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 San Marcos, about 60% 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 San Marcos
San Marcos has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In San Marcos, 56% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 63% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (56%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (63%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (67%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (37%)
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 San Marcos and nearby cities
San Marcos has the most property crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from San Marcos. 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, San Marcos has more property crime than 59% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set San Marcos apart: it has 16.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 35% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.16.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 92% 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 San Marcos: F (1 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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. 82% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 53% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.35% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 67% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.53 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 66% 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 San Marcos
Property crime costs San Marcos about $15 million a year, or $185 per resident and about $494 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
$2.0 million
$24
Theft
$6.4 million
$77
Vehicle theft
$4.7 million
$57
Arson
$68,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$26
Total
$15 million
$185
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.
