The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Big Spring, TX
Big Spring is a city of 28,300 in Howard County, about 40 miles northeast of downtown Midland · Updated November 2026
Is Big Spring, TX safe?
Crime in Big Spring is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 67% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Big Spring. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Big Spring run from A+ to F, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 720 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
33% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Big Spring as a whole, and 67% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Big Spring scores 720.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Big Spring, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Big Spring, 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 in Big Spring
Robberies are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Big Spring runs 72% above the US rate, but robberies run 38% below it: 0.38 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Burglaries and aggravated assaults both run high. In Big Spring, each runs at about double the US rate: 5.0 burglaries and 5.3 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 2.6 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Big Spring
Low crime is the norm across Big Spring: 67% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Big Spring run from A+ to F; 17% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
67%29%
A or B 67%C 29%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Big Spring, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Big Spring?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Big Spring is up 32% and property crime is down 29%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.5 to 7.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 38 to 27 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 12%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Big SpringUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Big Spring. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Big Spring
Violent, US
Property, Big Spring
Property, US
2016
+14%
+4%
+35%
+15%
2017
+10%
+4%
-1%
+12%
2018
+15%
+0%
-21%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
-17%
-8%
2021
+40%
+6%
-32%
-10%
2022
+42%
+5%
-34%
-6%
2023
+49%
+2%
-33%
-7%
2024
+32%
-4%
-29%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Big Spring
CrimeGrade™ estimates Big Spring has about 64 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 72% more than the US as a whole and 52% more than Texas.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Big Spring is assault, about 45% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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 crime happens in Big Spring
Big Spring has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Big Spring, 69% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 39% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (69%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (59%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (56%)
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.
How Big Spring compares with nearby cities
Big Spring has the most crime of its 2 nearest cities.
Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in Big Spring
Two things set Big Spring apart: it has 13.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 3.4 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.13.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 94% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 90% 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 and assault. 90% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (11 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 71% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Big Spring: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 67% of US city residents
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.89% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 62% 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 crime costs Big Spring
Crime costs Big Spring about $2,049 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 70% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $69 million a year, or $2,436 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.9 million
$139
Rape
$910,000
$32
Robbery
$340,000
$12
Assault
$9.2 million
$324
Burglary
$1.3 million
$45
Theft
$2.5 million
$89
Vehicle theft
$1.3 million
$45
Arson
$52,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.7 million
$60
Total
$21 million
$748
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Big Spring means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Big Spring, TX average a SchoolGrade of B: 51% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Big Spring on SchoolGrade
