The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Princeton, TX
Princeton is a city of 29,900 in Collin County, about 30 miles northeast of downtown Dallas · Updated November 2026
Is Princeton, TX safe?
Yes, crime in Princeton is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Princeton sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 52% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 845 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Princeton as a whole, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Princeton scores 845.
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 Princeton, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Princeton, 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 Princeton
One weak spot: burglary. It grades B+ in Princeton, worse than in the neighborhoods where 78% of Americans live, against A for property crime as a whole.
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run low. In Princeton, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.92 car thefts and 1.9 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Princeton
Every part of Princeton where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Princeton run from A+ to A-; 52% 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.
Within Princeton, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Princeton?
Reported property crime in Princeton has fallen 40% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 10 to 6.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 11%.
Property crime, change since 2019
PrincetonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Princeton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Princeton
Property, US
2016
+95%
+15%
2017
+94%
+12%
2018
+58%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-3%
-8%
2021
-47%
-10%
2022
-19%
-6%
2023
-46%
-7%
2024
-40%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Princeton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Princeton has about 25 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 33% less than the US as a whole and 41% less 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Princeton, about 42% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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 Princeton
Princeton has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Princeton, 60% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 46% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (60%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (46%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Vandalism
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (66%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Princeton compares with nearby cities
Princeton has the most crime of its 6 nearest cities.
Two things set Princeton apart: it has 12 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 4.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places with few jobs tend to report less theft and robbery, and theft runs low here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.12 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 96% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.4.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 95% 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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 80% 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.6.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 86% 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 Princeton: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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.80% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 71% 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 Princeton
Crime costs Princeton about $1,052 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 13% 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 $24 million a year, or $799 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$670,000
$22
Rape
$760,000
$25
Robbery
$150,000
$5
Assault
$3.6 million
$121
Burglary
$730,000
$24
Theft
$1.2 million
$42
Vehicle theft
$420,000
$14
Arson
$12,000
under $1
Vandalism
$410,000
$14
Total
$8.0 million
$268
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 Princeton 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. Princeton 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.
Schools in Princeton, TX average a SchoolGrade of B-: 48% of students test proficient, against 38% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Princeton on SchoolGrade
