Elsa is a city of 8,450 in Hidalgo County, about 16 miles northeast of downtown McAllen · Updated November 2026
Is Elsa, TX safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, Elsa has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 67% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades B+ and property crime B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Elsa run from A to B-, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 722 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
33% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Elsa as a whole, and 67% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Elsa scores 722.
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 Elsa, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Elsa, 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 Elsa
Car thefts are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Elsa runs 32% above the US rate, but car thefts run at about half that rate: 1.3 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Elsa
CrimeGrade™ estimates Elsa has about 49 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 32% more than the US as a whole and 16% 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.
Theft makes up about 39% of crime reported in Elsa. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 Elsa
Elsa has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Elsa, 68% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 57% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (68%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (57%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (48%)
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.
One thing sets Elsa apart: it has 15.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.15.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 87% of US city residents
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 Elsa: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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. 58% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (28 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.9.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 83% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 68% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 66% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Elsa 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 crime costs Elsa
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Elsa about $1,758 a year per household, 46% 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 $12 million a year, or $1,415 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$570,000
$67
Rape
$270,000
$32
Robbery
$57,000
$7
Assault
$1.5 million
$180
Burglary
$290,000
$34
Theft
$820,000
$97
Vehicle theft
$170,000
$20
Arson
$11,000
$1
Vandalism
$440,000
$52
Total
$4.1 million
$491
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 Elsa 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 Elsa, TX average a SchoolGrade of D-: 36% of students test proficient, against 20% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Elsa on SchoolGrade
