Mesquite is a city of 153,300 in Dallas County, about 11 miles east of downtown Dallas · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Mesquite?
Violent crime is high in Mesquite: a B, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 78% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 651 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
22% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Mesquite as a whole, and 78% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Mesquite scores 651.
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 Mesquite, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Mesquite, 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 Mesquite
Aggravated assaults happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Mesquite, 40% of reported aggravated assaults happen on streets and sidewalks, against 21% nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Mesquite
Low violent crime is the norm across Mesquite: 78% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Mesquite run from A to F.
78%19%
A or B 78%C 19%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Landers, eastClose to the rest of Mesquite on most crimes.B+736
2Towne Centre Village, Park City & Long Branch, northRobberies run at about half the rate in the rest of Mesquite.B+710
3Villas at Mesquite Creek, Mesquite Commons & Galloway Range, centralRobberies run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Mesquite.B-592
4Rodeo Centre & Diamond D, southAggravated assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Mesquite.B-575
5Northeast Dallas-White Rock & East Meadows, northwestRobberies run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Mesquite.B-570
6Austin, westClose to the rest of Mesquite on most crimes.C+519
7Southeast Dallas, southwestClose to the rest of Mesquite on most crimes.C399
Neighborhood areas of Mesquite, 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 Mesquite?
Reported violent crime in Mesquite has held about steady since 2019, within 2%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.9 to 5.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
MesquiteUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Mesquite. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Mesquite
Violent, US
2016
-14%
+4%
2017
-12%
+4%
2018
-18%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-14%
+4%
2021
+1%
+6%
2022
-5%
+5%
2023
+4%
+2%
2024
+2%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Mesquite
CrimeGrade™ estimates Mesquite has about 19 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% more than the US as a whole and 27% more than Texas.
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 Mesquite, about 93% 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 Mesquite
Mesquite has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 34% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
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 Mesquite and nearby cities
Mesquite has more violent crime than 8 of its 9 nearest cities. Sunnyvale and Heath have the least violent crime nearby.
Mesquite looks like a typical city on the traits that tend to go with violent crime.
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 67% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.37 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 58% 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. 84% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 54% 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 Mesquite: F (2 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 56% 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 violent crime costs Mesquite
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Mesquite about $221 million a year, or $1,440 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $52 million, or $340 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
$12 million
$79
Rape
$3.7 million
$24
Robbery
$4.0 million
$26
Assault
$32 million
$210
Total
$52 million
$340
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.
