The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Penuelas, PR
Penuelas is a community of 14,600 in Penuelas Municipio, about 7 miles northwest of downtown Ponce · Updated November 2026
Is Penuelas, PR safe?
Mostly, yes. Crime in Penuelas is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-, but most US neighborhoods are safer still: Penuelas has more crime than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Penuelas run from A to B, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 778 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Penuelas as a whole, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Penuelas scores 778.
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 Penuelas, PR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Penuelas, 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 Penuelas
Aggravated assault is a strength. Penuelas grades B+ for violent crime, but aggravated assault grades A, better than in the neighborhoods where 65% of Americans live.
Thefts are uncommon. Penuelas has thefts at a small fraction of the US rate: 2.8 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Penuelas
Every part of Penuelas where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Penuelas run from A to B; 25% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Barriada Caracoles 2, eastClose to the rest of Penuelas on most crimes.B+735
2Urbanizacion Rio Sol, centralClose to the rest of Penuelas on most crimes.B651
3Alturas de Penuelas, northwestClose to the rest of Penuelas on most crimes.B621
Neighborhood areas of Penuelas, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Crime rates and types in Penuelas
CrimeGrade™ estimates Penuelas has about 9.3 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 75% less than the US as a whole and close to Puerto Rico.
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 Penuelas, about 30% of everything reported.
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 Penuelas compares with nearby cities
Penuelas has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities. Castaner and Yauco have the least crime nearby.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Penuelas
Two things set Penuelas apart: it has 17.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 7.1 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, yet vandalism runs lower here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.17.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 98% of US city residents
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.64% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 81% 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. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (19 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 57% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 80% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 79% 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.28% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 66% of US city residents
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 Penuelas
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Penuelas about $945 a year per household, 22% 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 $29 million a year, or $1,979 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.6 million
$245
Rape
$120,000
$8
Robbery
$140,000
$10
Assault
$390,000
$27
Burglary
$210,000
$14
Theft
$210,000
$14
Vehicle theft
$170,000
$12
Arson
$54,000
$4
Vandalism
$210,000
$14
Total
$5.1 million
$348
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 Penuelas 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. Penuelas is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
