Central is a neighborhood of 100,500 residents in El Paso, about 3 miles northeast of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Central in El Paso safe?
Crime in Central is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Central. Violent and property crime both grade B here. El Paso as a whole grades B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Central run from A- to D+, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 654 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
27% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Central as a whole, and 73% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Central scores 654.
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 Central, El Paso, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Central in El Paso, 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 Central
Reported rapes and aggravated assaults both run high. In Central, each runs at about double the US rate: 0.83 reported rapes and 4.7 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.38 and 2.6 nationally.
How Central compares within El Paso
Low crime is the norm across Central: 76% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Central run from A- to D+; every part of Central has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
76%21%
A or B 76%C 21%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Central has less crime than 3 of the 20 neighborhoods in El Paso. It covers much of the Central area.
Is crime going up in El Paso?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in El Paso as a whole is down 23%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.6 to 2.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 16 to 15 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
El PasoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve El Paso. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, El Paso
Violent, US
Property, El Paso
Property, US
2016
+9%
+4%
+17%
+15%
2017
+6%
+4%
+19%
+12%
2018
+4%
+0%
-2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-10%
+4%
-15%
-8%
2021
-27%
+6%
-16%
-10%
2022
-14%
+5%
-11%
-6%
2023
-14%
+2%
+4%
-7%
2024
-23%
-4%
-4%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Central
CrimeGrade™ estimates Central has about 67 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 80% more than the US as a whole and 91% more than El Paso as a whole.
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.
Assault is the most common crime in Central, about 44% of everything reported, and it also accounts for 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 El Paso
The El Paso Police Department polices Central; these figures cover El Paso as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In El Paso as a whole, 55% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 44% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (55%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (47%)
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 Central compares with nearby neighborhoods
Central has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Stonehaven and Coronado have the least crime nearby.
Tree cover, parking lots and walkability in Central
Two things set Central apart: it has tree cover over 1% of the land where people live, against 21% nationally, and 1.8 bars and nightlife spots for every 1,000 residents, against 0.6 nationally. Places like that tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.1% where people liveUS: 21%Lower than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 91% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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.C (39 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 56% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 91% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Central
Crime costs Central about $1,924 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 60% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $75 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $221 million a year, or $2,202 per resident.
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 Central 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. Central is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Central, El Paso, TX average a SchoolGrade of D+: 39% of students test proficient, against 27% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Central on SchoolGrade
