The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Rio Rancho, NM
Rio Rancho is the third-largest city in New Mexico, with 108,700 residents in Sandoval County, about 13 miles north of downtown Albuquerque · Updated November 2026
Is Rio Rancho, NM safe?
Mostly, yes. Crime in Rio Rancho is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-, but most US neighborhoods are safer still: Rio Rancho 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 Rio Rancho run from A+ to C, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 777 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
40% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Rio Rancho as a whole, and 60% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Rio Rancho scores 777.
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 Rio Rancho, NM at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Rio Rancho, 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 Rio Rancho
Aggravated assault stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 1.2 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; Rio Rancho has 2.8.
Robbery is a strength. Rio Rancho grades B+ for violent crime, but robbery grades A+, better than in the neighborhoods where 56% of Americans live.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Rio Rancho, 67% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Rio Rancho
Most of Rio Rancho grades well: 91% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Rio Rancho run from A+ to C; 10% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
91%
A or B 91%C 9%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Rio Rancho, the east side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Is crime going up in Rio Rancho?
Reported property crime in Rio Rancho peaked in 2022 and has fallen 19% since, back near its 2019 level. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 15 to 13 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Rio RanchoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Rio Rancho. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Rio Rancho
Property, US
2016
+60%
+15%
2017
+39%
+12%
2018
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-10%
-8%
2021
-18%
-10%
2022
+11%
-6%
2023
-0%
-7%
2024
-9%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Rio Rancho
CrimeGrade™ estimates Rio Rancho has about 35 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 5% less than the US as a whole and 44% less than New Mexico.
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 Rio Rancho, about 41% 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 Rio Rancho
Rio Rancho has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Rio Rancho, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (62%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (67%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (64%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (62%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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 Rio Rancho compares with nearby cities
Rio Rancho has less crime than 4 of its 8 nearest cities.
Two things set Rio Rancho apart: it has 4.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (7 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.4.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 93% 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- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 87% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.22 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 84% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 77% 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.88% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 63% 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 Rio Rancho
Crime costs Rio Rancho about $1,201 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about the same as the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $46 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $160 million a year, or $1,473 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$11 million
$97
Rape
$2.4 million
$22
Robbery
$430,000
$4
Assault
$18 million
$163
Burglary
$2.0 million
$18
Theft
$6.3 million
$58
Vehicle theft
$2.2 million
$21
Arson
$120,000
$1
Vandalism
$4.4 million
$40
Total
$46 million
$424
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 Rio Rancho 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 Rio Rancho, NM average a SchoolGrade of B: 36% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Rio Rancho on SchoolGrade
