The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Vega Baja, PR
Vega Baja is an unincorporated community of 41,900 in Vega Baja Municipio, about 19 miles west of downtown San Juan · Updated November 2026
Is Vega Baja, PR safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B, Vega Baja has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 70% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Vega Baja run from A to C, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 687 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
30% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Vega Baja as a whole, and 70% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Vega Baja scores 687.
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 Vega Baja, PR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Vega Baja, 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 Vega Baja
Aggravated assault is a strength. Vega Baja grades B- for violent crime, but aggravated assault grades A, better than in the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live.
Simple assaults and thefts both run low. In Vega Baja, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.57 simple assaults and 2.9 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 and 13.1 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Vega Baja
Low crime is the norm across Vega Baja: 97% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Vega Baja run from A to C; 2% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
97%
A or B 97%C 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Villa de la Playa, northwestClose to the rest of Vega Baja on most crimes.B+743
2Alturas de Vega Baja & Parcelas Amadeo, southClose to the rest of Vega Baja on most crimes.B+709
3Brisas del Rosario, southeastClose to the rest of Vega Baja on most crimes.B681
4Estancias de Tortuguero & Brisas de Tortuguero, westClose to the rest of Vega Baja on most crimes.B672
5Urbanizacion Ojo de Agua & Jardines de Vega Baja, centralClose to the rest of Vega Baja on most crimes.B625
6Urbanizacion San Demetrio, Barriada Sandin & Urbanizacion Guarico, northClose to the rest of Vega Baja on most crimes.B625
Neighborhood areas of Vega Baja, 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 Vega Baja
CrimeGrade™ estimates Vega Baja has about 9.5 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 74% 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 Vega Baja, 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 Vega Baja compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Vega Baja, 8 have less crime. Montebello and Ciales have the least.
Parking lots, empty homes and walkability in Vega Baja
Two things set Vega Baja apart: it has 0.1 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 17.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with little parking-lot space tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 99% 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.17.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 98% 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. 78% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 66% 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.8.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 73% 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.86% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 65% 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.23% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 61% 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 Vega Baja
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Vega Baja about $849 a year per household, 30% 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 $78 million a year, or $1,873 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$9.6 million
$229
Rape
$360,000
$9
Robbery
$400,000
$10
Assault
$1.2 million
$28
Burglary
$660,000
$16
Theft
$620,000
$15
Vehicle theft
$490,000
$12
Arson
$120,000
$3
Vandalism
$600,000
$14
Total
$14 million
$335
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 Vega Baja 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. Vega Baja 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.
