South Houston is a city of 16,000 in Harris County, about 11 miles southeast of downtown Houston · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in South Houston?
Property crime is high in South Houston: a B-, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live. Theft makes up 47% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, and vehicle theft grades C-.
B-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 539 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
23% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than South Houston as a whole, and 77% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. South Houston scores 539.
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 South Houston, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South Houston, 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 South Houston
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In South Houston, 59% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
Vehicle theft at about double the US rate. South Houston has 4.9 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in South Houston
Areas graded C for property crime are home to 60% of residents in South Houston; 40% live in areas graded A or B and 0% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across South Houston run from B to C+.
40%60%
A or B 40%C 60%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in South Houston?
Reported property crime in South Houston has fallen 19% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 26 to 21 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 19%.
Property crime, change since 2019
South HoustonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves South Houston. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, South Houston
Property, US
2016
+8%
+15%
2017
+1%
+12%
2018
-6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+19%
-8%
2021
-15%
-10%
2022
+21%
-6%
2023
+0%
-7%
2024
-18%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in South Houston
CrimeGrade™ estimates South Houston has about 27 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 12% 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 South Houston, about 47% 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 South Houston Police Department's yearly counts of vehicle theft are small and swing from year to year, so CrimeGrade™ steadied them with its estimate for similar places.
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 South Houston
South Houston has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In South Houston, 36% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 47% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (47%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (59%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (36%)
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 South Houston and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to South Houston, 8 have less property crime. Deer Park and Pearland have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from South Houston. 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, South Houston has more property crime than 93% of them.
Night lighting, parking lots and walkability in South Houston
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set South Houston apart: it has 0.6 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and a Walk Grade of C (38 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places with little parking-lot space tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
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 92% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 88% 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 (38 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 83% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.24 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 81% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.8.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 73% 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 South Houston
Property crime costs South Houston about $3.4 million a year, or $212 per resident and about $688 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
$380,000
$24
Theft
$1.0 million
$64
Vehicle theft
$1.2 million
$76
Arson
$53,000
$3
Vandalism
$720,000
$45
Total
$3.4 million
$212
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.
