Mesa is the third-largest city in Arizona, with 539,500 residents in Maricopa County, about 20 miles east of downtown Phoenix · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Mesa?
Violent crime is high in Mesa: a B, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 76% of Americans live. Assaults make up 95% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 680 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
24% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Mesa as a whole, and 76% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Mesa scores 680.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Mesa, AZ at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Mesa, 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 about violent crime in Mesa
One part of Mesa stands out for robbery. Robberies in West Central & Central Mesa, in west Mesa, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Murder is less common here. Mesa has about 15 murders a year, a rate about half the national one.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Mesa
Low violent crime is the norm across Mesa: 76% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 7% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Mesa run from A+ to F.
76%17%
A or B 76%C 17%D or F 7%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Southeast Mesa, southeastAggravated assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Mesa.A847
2Northeast, northRobberies run at less than half the rate in the rest of Mesa.A-835
3Southwest Mesa, southwestClose to the rest of Mesa on most crimes.B635
5West Central & Central Mesa, westAggravated assaults run at more than double the rate in the rest of Mesa.C393
Neighborhood areas of Mesa, ranked by violent crime 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.
Is violent crime going up in Mesa?
Reported violent crime in Mesa has risen 27% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.8 to 4.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
MesaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Mesa. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Mesa
Violent, US
2016
+11%
+4%
2017
+9%
+4%
2018
-4%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+5%
+4%
2021
+11%
+6%
2022
+15%
+5%
2023
+17%
+2%
2024
+27%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Mesa
CrimeGrade™ estimates Mesa has about 19 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 39% more than the US as a whole and 18% more than Arizona.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Mesa, about 95% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Mesa
Mesa has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Mesa, 51% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 38% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (51%)
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.
Violent crime in Mesa and nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Mesa, 7 have less violent crime. Queen Creek and Fort McDowell have the least.
Mesa looks like a typical city on the traits that tend to go with violent crime.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 67% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.28% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 66% 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 assault. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 53% of US city residents
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Mesa: D (16 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 64% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Mesa on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 violent crime costs Mesa
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Mesa about $680 million a year, or $1,260 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $164 million, or $305 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 76% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$27 million
$51
Rape
$14 million
$26
Robbery
$8.0 million
$15
Assault
$115 million
$213
Total
$164 million
$305
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
