This overview combines violent, property, and other offenses into a single grade for Harris County. The dedicated violent crime and property crime pages go deeper on each. The map below shows the overall crime rate per 1,000 residents.
D
Overall Crime Grade™
D |
|
D |
|
Other Crime Grade |
C |
$3.5 billion
Cost of Crime™ for Harris County, TX
In 2025, crime will cost $2,058 per household.
On the map, green marks the parts of Harris County with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.
The D overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US county, where Harris County's combined rate is higher than the norm. Harris County sits in the 22nd percentile, ahead of 22% of counties and behind 78%. The grade covers only Harris County's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby counties.
The overall crime rate in Harris County is 42.95 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northeast part of the county the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 16 in the central areas to 1 in 30 in the northeast.
Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the northwest parts of Harris County, TX report the most crime, about 36,776 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 12,504 per year.
| Harris County, TX: | $716 |
|---|---|
| Potter County, TX: | $783 |
| Hays County, TX: | $323 |
| Texas: | $555 |
| USA: | $464 |
Crime |
Cost to Harris County |
Cost per Harris County Resident |
|---|---|---|
Murder |
$1.2 billion |
$243 |
Rape/Sexual Assault |
$175.3 million |
$36 |
Robbery |
$167.0 million |
$34 |
Assault |
$588.9 million |
$120 |
Kidnapping |
$28.2 million |
$6 |
Vehicle Theft |
$348.1 million |
$71 |
Burglary |
$162.9 million |
$33 |
Theft |
$431.0 million |
$88 |
Arson |
$14.2 million |
$3 |
Vandalism |
$269.8 million |
$55 |
Animal Cruelty |
$4.28 million |
$1 |
Drug Crimes |
$108.2 million |
$22 |
Identity Theft |
$32.6 million |
$7 |
Total Cost of Crime |
$3,523,749,748 |
$716 |
Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The northwest part of the county holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.
Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports, of which Harris County has 2, draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Harris County has 504, do the same, and of Harris County's 4,918,377 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.
The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Harris County, TX at ISP Reports.The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Harris County residents in a standard year.
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Assault |
4.169 |
Robbery |
1.079 |
Rape |
0.5877 |
Murder |
0.1291 |
Total Violent Crime |
5.966 (D) |
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Theft |
16.92 |
Vehicle Theft |
4.571 |
Burglary |
3.653 |
Arson |
0.1198 |
Total Property Crime |
25.26 (D) |
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Kidnapping |
0.0945 |
Drug Crimes |
2.973 |
Vandalism |
7.679 |
Identity Theft |
0.8575 |
Animal Cruelty |
0.1177 |
Total "Other" Rate |
11.72 (C) |
Compared to surrounding counties, the rate of crime in Harris County is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for counties close to Harris County.
Nearby County | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
B- | B- | C+ | |
B | B- | B- | |
B- | B- | C+ | |
C- | C | D | |
C+ | C+ | C | |
D | C- | D- | |
B+ | B- | B+ | |
C+ | B- | C | |
C | C- | C | |
D | C- | D- |
Harris County is higher versus other counties of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in counties with comparable overall population in the county‘s boundaries.
Similar County | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
C | C- | C- | |
C- | D | D | |
B- | C | C | |
B- | C+ | C+ | |
C | C+ | C+ | |
A- | B | B | |
A- | A+ | A+ | |
A | A | A | |
C+ | B- | B- | |
A+ | A+ | A+ |
Considering only the crime rate, Harris County is less safe than the Texas state average and less safe than the national average.
Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Harris County, TX average SchoolGrade of C-, with 33% actual proficiency versus 29% projected; overall, schools exceed expectations. See Harris County schools on SchoolGrade
CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.
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A crime occurs on average every 2 minutes in Harris County. Want to protect your home?
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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.