Tempe is the ninth-largest city in Arizona, with 190,900 residents in Maricopa County, about 9 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Tempe?
Property crime in Tempe runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 70% of Americans live. Theft makes up 57% 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 657 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
30% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Tempe as a whole, and 70% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Tempe scores 657.
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 Tempe, AZ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Tempe, 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 Tempe
Thefts run high in Escalante, Alegre Community & Tempe Cascade. In this part of northeast Tempe, they run at about double the rate in the rest of Tempe.
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Tempe, 49% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Tempe
In Tempe, 56% of residents live in areas graded A or B for property crime, 25% in areas graded C and 19% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Tempe run from A to F.
56%25%19%
A or B 56%C 25%D or F 19%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Optimist Park Sw, Alta Mira & Optimist Park Nw, southeastCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Tempe.A-839
2Kiwanis Park, Bell de Mar Crossing & Raintree, southCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Tempe.A-824
3Tempe Royal Estates & Pepperwood, southwestCar thefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Tempe.B+718
4Meyer Park, Evergreen-Tempe & Shalimar, eastBurglaries run about 20% lower here than in the rest of Tempe.B673
7Peterson, Hughes Acres & Cyprus Southwest, centralThefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Tempe.B-574
8Downtown Tempe, Ntna-College & Jen Tilly Terrace, northCar thefts run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Tempe.B-568
9Escalante, Alegre Community & Tempe Cascade, northeastCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Tempe.C+496
Neighborhood areas of Tempe, 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 Tempe?
Reported property crime in Tempe has fallen 23% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 38 to 29 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 18%.
Property crime, change since 2019
TempeUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Tempe. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Tempe
Property, US
2016
+16%
+15%
2017
+9%
+12%
2018
+7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
-8%
2021
+10%
-10%
2022
+14%
-6%
2023
-6%
-7%
2024
-23%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Tempe
CrimeGrade™ estimates Tempe has about 41 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 72% more than the US as a whole and 70% more 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 Tempe, about 57% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
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 Tempe
Tempe has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Tempe, 49% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (43%)
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 Tempe and nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Tempe, 6 have less property crime. Paradise Valley and Sun Lakes have the least.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Tempe apart: it has 133 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 17.1 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.133 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.17.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 93% 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. 52% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C (36 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Show all 6
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
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Tempe: C- (32 of 100).17 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 90% 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.43% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 78% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Tempe 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 Tempe
Property crime costs Tempe about $53 million a year, or $278 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
$5.9 million
$31
Theft
$23 million
$119
Vehicle theft
$9.1 million
$48
Arson
$380,000
$2
Vandalism
$15 million
$78
Total
$53 million
$278
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
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.
