Texas: The Best and Worst Cities for Crime

The resort town of South Padre Island has some of the Lone Star State’s worst crime rates, but places like Panhandle and Argyle have much safer records.
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Derek Prall
July 26, 2024 Derek Prall Derek Prall , Home Security Expert | July 26, 2024
Statewide Crime Trends Property Crime Violent Crime Our Data

Despite being one of the safest states overall, Texas has higher violent crime and property rates than the national average because certain areas report much higher rates of these crimes.

Texas is famous for its independence, being the largest state by land mass in the Lower 48, and for cowboys and NASA mission control in Houston.

Its fast-growing economy across multiple sectors, along with its Texas BBQ and pecan pie, attract many young Americans to the Lone Star State to build their careers and raise their families. Personal and property safety are important considerations for residents.

Popular cities for newcomers include Tyler, Laredo, and New Braunfels, according to USA Today.

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But how do these cities rank for crime in Texas?

Austin’s violent crime rate is near the middle of the top of the range of Texas cities, with 540 violent crimes reported per 100,000 annually. Laredo and El Paso rank near the middle of the entire list of Texas cities for violent crime, with 317 and 313 of these kinds of crimes reported per 100,000 each year.

New Braunfels ranks lower on the list among the safer cities in Texas in which to move to and live, with 188 violent crimes committed per 100,000, according to the FBI uniform crime data.

Here are some more statewide crime trends in Texas.

Property Crime in Texas

Texas residents and visitors, especially those living or staying in certain cities, may want to take extra precautions for personal safety and home security.

texas-property crime ratesProperty crime in Texas puts the state in the top 28% of states for burglary, larceny theft, and automotive vehicle theft. With 2,300 property crimes reported per 100,000 people per year, Texas has a property crime rate 18% higher than the national average.

The burglary rate statewide is 334 per 100K, while the larceny-theft rate is 1,634, and the motor vehicle theft rate is 331.

The least safest cities in Texas for property crime are South Padre Island (14,063 per 100K), Humble (10,811 per 100K), and Balcones Heights (10,410 per 100K). The safest cities in Texas for property crime are Collinsville, Edgewood, Stratford, Hico, and Woodbranch (0 per 100K).

Violent Crime in Texas

Violent crime in Texas ranks the state 12th nationwide, with a violent crime rate of 432 per 100K annually, which is 13 percent higher than the national average.

texas-violent crime ratesThe rate of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter per 100,000 residents per year is 7, the rate of rape is 50, robbery is 71, and aggravated assault is 305.

The most violent cities in Texas are Balcones Heights (1,587 violent crimes reported per 100K people per year), South Padre Island (1,563), and Gonzales (1,481). The least violent cities in Texas are Argyle, Josephine, Melissa, and Northeast.

Our Data

Our data comes from comprehensive reporting compiled by the FBI and accessed via the Crime Data Explorer website. Property and violent crime state figures were drawn from Table 5 of the 2022 Crime in the U.S. Report. Metropolitan figures were found in Table 6, Crime in the U.S. by Metropolitan Statistical Area. City-level figures were drawn from Table 8, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City. The population figures in that table are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2020.

Limitations: According to the FBI, the data in the publication tables may differ from those released on the Explorer Pages of the CDE. These variations are due to the difference in methodologies between the publication tables and data displayed on the CDE. Please note that crime statistics are not the sole measure of a city’s safety.

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