The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Dona Ana County, NM
Dona Ana County, the second-most populous county in New Mexico, is home to 224,300 residents and includes Las Cruces and Sunland Park · Updated November 2026
Is Dona Ana County, NM safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, Dona Ana County has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 68% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades B+ and property crime B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Dona Ana County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 710 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
32% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Dona Ana County as a whole, and 68% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Dona Ana County scores 710.
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 Dona Ana County, NM at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Dona Ana County, 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 Dona Ana County
Robberies are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Dona Ana County runs 85% above the US rate, but robberies run 44% below it: 0.35 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Car thefts happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Dona Ana County, 61% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
Burglaries and aggravated assaults both run high. In Dona Ana County, each runs at about double the US rate: 5.1 burglaries and 4.8 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 2.6 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Dona Ana County
Safety changes a lot from one part of Dona Ana County to the next: 67% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 22% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Dona Ana County run from A+ to F; 27% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
67%11%22%
A or B 67%C 11%D or F 22%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Dona Ana County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the northeast side has the least crime and the Las Cruces area the most.
Crime rates and types in Dona Ana County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Dona Ana County has about 69 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 85% more than the US as a whole and close to New Mexico.
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 Dona Ana County, about 31% 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 Dona Ana County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Dona Ana County, 2022 to 2024.
In Dona Ana County, 51% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 55% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (51%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (61%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (48%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (32%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (57%)
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 Dona Ana County compares with nearby counties
Dona Ana County has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Dona Ana County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Dona Ana County has more crime than 87% of them.
One thing sets Dona Ana County apart: it has a Walk Grade of D- (12 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 91% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.35 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 74% of Americans
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. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 73% of Americans
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 Dona Ana County: F (6 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 68% of Americans
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.76% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 66% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.6.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 60% of Americans
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 Dona Ana County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Dona Ana County about $2,094 a year per household, 74% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $172 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 $525 million a year, or $2,342 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$30 million
$134
Rape
$6.4 million
$28
Robbery
$2.4 million
$11
Assault
$58 million
$258
Burglary
$10 million
$46
Theft
$24 million
$108
Vehicle theft
$16 million
$73
Arson
$570,000
$3
Vandalism
$24 million
$108
Total
$172 million
$769
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 Dona Ana County 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 Dona Ana County, NM average a SchoolGrade of C+: 33% of students test proficient, against 31% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Dona Ana County on SchoolGrade
