The Safest and Most Dangerous Cities in New Mexico

New Mexico's Safety Challenges: Beyond the Rankings

New Mexico's crime landscape presents a complicated picture. With mountainous terrain in the north, vast desert expanses in the south and a population concentrated in a few urban centers, the state faces unique public safety challenges. The state's position along major transportation corridors, including Interstates 25 and 40, contributes to its status as a transit point for drug trafficking. Coupled with persistent poverty, limited economic opportunities in many areas and substance abuse issues, these factors have created difficult conditions for law enforcement agencies.

Despite these challenges, crime rates decreased slightly in 2023, offering cautious optimism for the future. Violent crime dropped 4.0% year-over-year while property crime declined 3.2% during the same period. While these improvements don't change New Mexico's national ranking, they suggest that targeted enforcement efforts and community-based prevention strategies might be starting to yield results.

Best and Worst Cities for Property and Violent Crime

Violent Crime: Urban Centers Face the Greatest Challenges

Gallup leads New Mexico in violent crime with 1,360 per 100,000. It’s situated on the Arizona border and is a commercial hub for surrounding rural communities and the Navajo Nation. Located in McKinley County, which has the highest rate of alcohol deaths per capita in New Mexico¹, Gallup struggles with alcohol-related crimes. The town also faces jurisdictional issues between tribal, local and state authorities. Despite the bleak statistics, public intoxication enforcement programs and community recovery resources in McKinley County are making a difference.²

Belen, a small town south of Albuquerque, has the second-highest violent crime rate at 1,345 per 100,000. Officials point to its location along I-25 and limited economic opportunities as contributing factors. Recent community policing and youth intervention programs are trying to address the underlying issues.

Albuquerque, the state's largest city, is third with 1,317 violent crimes per 100,000. Its size and density create unique challenges, with gang activity and drug trafficking impacting crime across the metro area. They have added to their police force in recent years and implemented technological solutions like real-time crime centers to improve response.

At the other end of the spectrum, Peralta has the lowest violent crime rate at 117 per 100,000. This small town in Valencia County benefits from its rural nature and strong community ties.
Corrales, a village next to Albuquerque, proves that being close to high-crime areas doesn't mean you have to have local problems. With a violent crime rate of 118 per 100,000, Corrales keeps its safety through community policing and an engaged citizenry. Many residents chose the semi-rural community for its safety despite being just minutes from Albuquerque.

In the northeastern corner of the state, Clayton rounds out the list of safest communities with 156 violent crimes per 100,000. Its remote location, distance from crime corridors and small population have helped keep crime low despite limited resources.

Property Crime: Tourist Areas Are Most Vulnerable

Taos, famous for its art and outdoor recreation, has the state's highest property crime rate at 5,434 per 100,000. As a tourist destination, Taos deals with the challenges that come with vacation communities: visitors unfamiliar with the area, seasonal population fluctuations and retail areas that target tourists. Vacation homes that sit vacant for part of the year are especially attractive to burglars. Las Cruces is second with 5,402 property crimes per 100,000. Home to New Mexico State University, it has the typical college town issues, such as theft in student housing. Being 40 miles from the Mexican border adds to the law enforcement challenges.

Hobbs, in the southern part of the state near the Texas border, is third with 4,967 property crimes per 100,000 people. The community's economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas production, which creates boom and bust cycles that affect crime. Recent economic booms have brought workers to the area, housing pressures and associated property crime issues.

Clayton again stands out with the lowest property crime rate in the state at 117 per 100,000 people ― the same as its violent crime rate. This anomaly shows the community is overall safe.
Corrales remains one of the safest places in New Mexico, with the second-lowest property crime rate (377 per 100,000). Residents note that the community's layout, with most homes on large lots and limited access points to the village, discourages property crimes of opportunity.

Lordsburg, a small town along Interstate 10 near the Arizona border, has the third-lowest property crime rate at 413 per 100,000 people. Despite being on a major highway, Lordsburg has remained safe through community vigilance and smart policing.

Statewide Crime Trends

New Mexico is first in both violent and property crime. The violent crime rate of 749 per 100,000 is 106% above the national average and the property crime rate of 2,888 per 100,000 is 51% above the national average.

Among violent crimes, aggravated assault occurs most often, with 612.2 per 100,000 people ― 131.8% above the national average. This includes serious attacks with weapons or resulting in serious injury and is often related to domestic violence or substance abuse.

The state's murder rate (11.5 per 100,000) is more than double the national average, rape (52.7) is 38.7% above the national average and robbery (72.9) is 9.6% above the national average ― the smallest difference among the violent crime categories. For property crimes, burglary is a big problem at 517.9 per 100,000 people ― 106.6% above the national average. Larceny theft is the most common property crime at 1,850.1 per 100,000 (37.3% above the national average) and vehicle theft (519.5) is 63.0% above the national average.

These numbers reflect several underlying issues. Poverty is a persistent problem, with New Mexico consistently ranking as one of the poorest states. Substance abuse, particularly methamphetamine and heroin, drives property and violent crime in many communities.
The state's rural nature adds to the challenges. With vast areas between population centers, law enforcement resources are stretched thin. Response times in rural areas can be an hour or more, giving criminals an opportunity.

Geography also plays a role in crime patterns. New Mexico's location along the United States-Mexico border and major interstate highways makes it a drug trafficking corridor. Communities along these corridors tend to have higher crime rates than more remote areas.

New Mexico Is Showing Signs of Improvement

Despite these challenges, the small year-over-year decreases in both violent (-4.0%) and property crime (-3.2%) are encouraging. These numbers suggest that targeted enforcement and community-based prevention strategies are working.

Several initiatives are contributing to these trends. Cross-jurisdictional task forces have improved cooperation between tribal, local, state and federal agencies. Community-based programs addressing substance abuse and youth intervention are showing promise in addressing the root causes of crime. Economic development in several communities is creating opportunities that may reduce financially motivated criminal activity.

As the state moves forward, building on the small progress made in 2023 will require continued effort from law enforcement, community organizations and residents themselves. New Mexico may be number one in crime stats, but the trend is down, so maybe the Land of Enchantment can become a safer place for all of us.

Where Our Crime Data Comes From

Unless specified otherwise, the information in this article is based on crime data compiled by the FBI and made available through the Crime Data Explorer. Statewide violent and property crime statistics are drawn from the FBI’s 2023 Crime in the United States Report (Table 5) and, for city-level crime rates, we referred to Table 8, which lists reported offenses by state and city.

Important note: Crime statistics offer valuable insights, but they aren’t the only way to evaluate a community’s safety. Local context, law enforcement practices and reporting standards can all influence how crime is recorded. Additionally, FBI publication tables and the data displayed on the Crime Data Explorer may differ slightly due to variations in methodology.