The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in New Mexico: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	F
Property Crime Grade	D-
Other Crime Grade	F

Which crimes are included?

$1.8 billion

Cost of Crime™ for New Mexico

In 2025, crime will cost $2,212 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of New Mexico 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.

Is New Mexico Safe?

The F overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US state, where New Mexico's combined rate is much higher than the norm. New Mexico sits in the 6th percentile, ahead of 6% of states and behind 94%. The grade covers only New Mexico's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby states.

The overall crime rate in New Mexico is 50.59 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the southeast part of the state the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 14 in the northeast cities to 1 in 29 in the southeast.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of New Mexico report the most crime, about 46,495 cases per year. The east part reports the fewest, around 3,697 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in New Mexico

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in New Mexico for 2025 is $1,835,606,503, about $835 per resident and $2,212 per household. That equals 2.4% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 53.2%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 35.0%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.8%

How Much Does Crime Cost in New Mexico Compared to Other States?

New Mexico:	$835
Arkansas:	$729
New Jersey:	$240
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in New Mexico is $835 per year, which is $371 more than the national average. The comparison below uses states similar to New Mexico:

In Arkansas, crime costs $729 per person, which is $106 less than in New Mexico.
In New Jersey, crime costs $240 per person, which is $595 less than in New Mexico

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of New Mexico for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to New Mexico	Cost per New Mexico Resident
Murder	$515.4 million	$234
Rape/Sexual Assault	$122.2 million	$56
Robbery	$68.4 million	$31
Assault	$347.9 million	$158
Kidnapping	$61.4 million	$28
Vehicle Theft	$170.6 million	$78
Burglary	$105.8 million	$48
Theft	$189.4 million	$86
Arson	$8.50 million	$4
Vandalism	$179.7 million	$82
Animal Cruelty	$894,314	$0
Drug Crimes	$50.2 million	$23
Identity Theft	$15.3 million	$7
Total Cost of Crime	$1,835,606,503	$835

The Intangible Cost of Crime in New Mexico

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in New Mexico totals $4,122,121,964 ($1,875 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $5,957,728,467 ($2,710 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

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 central part of the state 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 New Mexico has 1, draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which New Mexico has 765, do the same, and of New Mexico's 2,198,518 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 New Mexico at ISP Reports.

New Mexico Crime Breakdown

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 New Mexico residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	5.511
Robbery	0.9895
Rape	0.9168
Murder	0.1247
Total Violent Crime	7.542 (F)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	16.63
Vehicle Theft	5.010
Burglary	5.306
Arson	0.1601
Total Property Crime	27.11 (D-)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.4603
Drug Crimes	3.086
Vandalism	11.44
Identity Theft	0.8971
Animal Cruelty	0.0550
Total "Other" Rate	15.94 (F)

Individual New Mexico Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby States

Compared to surrounding states, the rate of crime in New Mexico is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for states close to New Mexico.

Nearby State	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Arizona	B-	C	C+
Colorado	F	D-	F
Utah	C-	B	C
Oklahoma	D+	D+	D
Texas	D+	D+	D+
Kansas	D+	C-	C
Wyoming	B+	A	A
Nebraska	C+	B+	C+
Nevada	D	D	D-
California	C	D	D+

Crime Maps and Rates for State with Similar Populations

New Mexico is higher versus other states of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in states with comparable overall population in the state‘s boundaries.

Similar State	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Delaware	D	C-	C-
District of Columbia	F	F	F
Florida	A+	A-	A-
Georgia	B-	C+	C+
Connecticut	B+	A+	A+
New Hampshire	A	A+	A+
Montana	C-	D+	D+
New Jersey	A+	A	A
New York	A-	C	C
North Carolina	C-	C-	C-

Considering only the crime rate, New Mexico is as safe as the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in New Mexico average SchoolGrade of C+, with 39% actual proficiency versus 30% projected; overall, schools greatly exceed expectations. See New Mexico schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

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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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.