Tucumcari is a city of 6,570 in Quay County · Updated November 2026
Is Tucumcari, NM safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Tucumcari has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 70% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A+ against A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Tucumcari run from A+ to B-, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 910 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
70% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Tucumcari as a whole, and 30% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Tucumcari scores 910.
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 Tucumcari, NM at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Tucumcari, 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 Tucumcari
Aggravated assault is the exception. Tucumcari grades A for violent crime, but aggravated assault grades B+, worse than in the neighborhoods where 73% of Americans live.
Crime rates and types in Tucumcari
CrimeGrade™ estimates Tucumcari has about 47 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 28% more than the US as a whole and 24% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Tucumcari is assault, about 39% of the total. It also makes up 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.
How Tucumcari compares with nearby cities
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Tucumcari has more crime than 71% of them.
Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Shops, empty homes and walkability in Tucumcari
Two things set Tucumcari apart: it has 16.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 11.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% 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.16.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 92% 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.11.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 91% 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. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 55% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower 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 Tucumcari: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 76% 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 Tucumcari
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Tucumcari about $1,577 a year per household, 31% more 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 $18 million a year, or $2,759 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$830,000
$126
Rape
$160,000
$24
Robbery
$43,000
$7
Assault
$2.2 million
$328
Burglary
$130,000
$19
Theft
$250,000
$39
Vehicle theft
$230,000
$35
Arson
$91,000
$14
Vandalism
$740,000
$113
Total
$4.6 million
$704
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 Tucumcari 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. Tucumcari is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse 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 Tucumcari, NM average a SchoolGrade of A-: 44% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Tucumcari on SchoolGrade
