Kemah is a city of 4,440 in Galveston County, about 25 miles southeast of downtown Houston · Updated November 2026
Is Kemah, TX safe?
Yes, crime in Kemah is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Kemah sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 49% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 834 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Kemah as a whole, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Kemah scores 834.
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 Kemah, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Kemah, 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 Kemah
Burglary stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 1.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; Kemah has 5.1.
Crime rates and types in Kemah
CrimeGrade™ estimates Kemah has about 53 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 42% more than the US as a whole and 26% 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 is the most common crime in Kemah, about 40% of everything reported, but assault 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.
How Kemah compares with nearby cities
Kemah has less crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities; only League City has less.
Two things set Kemah apart: it has 43.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 6.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.43.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.6.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 99% 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 (13 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 65% of US city residents
Show all 6
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.78 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 91% 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 Kemah: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Kemah 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 Kemah
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Kemah about $1,007 a year per household, 16% less 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 $5.2 million a year, or $1,165 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$170,000
$39
Rape
$200,000
$45
Robbery
$34,000
$8
Assault
$670,000
$152
Burglary
$200,000
$46
Theft
$480,000
$109
Vehicle theft
$210,000
$47
Arson
$3,900
$1
Vandalism
$200,000
$45
Total
$2.2 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 Kemah 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 Kemah, TX average a SchoolGrade of A-: 53% of students test proficient, against 50% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Kemah on SchoolGrade
