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Today’s Briefing

Safety · Data

How safe is Puerto Rico, really?

Every reported Type I crime — homicide to car theft — for the island and all 78 municipios, mapped, benchmarked against last year, and put in the context the headline numbers hide. Official police-bureau data, updated monthly.

Source: Puerto Rico Police Bureau, SAEC Type I crime reports (División de Estadísticas de la Criminalidad), published by the Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico. Period: January 1 – May 31, 2026 (prior-year figures: same period + full 2025).

Reported Type I incidents

8,264

January 1 – May 31, 2026

▼ 1% vs same period 2025

Homicides

205

January 1 – May 31, 2026

▲ 14% vs same period 2025

Homicide rate, full 2025

14.3 /100k

463 homicides · 3.2M residents

The safety map

Every municipio, colored by reported violent crime per 10,000 residents(full 2025 — a complete year is fairer to compare than a partial one). Switch lenses to see this year's homicides or all reported crime.

Violent crime /10k (2025):≤ 11.6≤ 15.5≤ 19.1≤ 23.3> 23.3
Quintile buckets — a fifth of towns in each shade. Small towns swing hard on a handful of incidents; check the tooltip counts before reading much into a dark shade on a 6,000-person town. Tap a town for its full page.

Homicides by month — 2026 vs 2025

Jan40Feb39Mar37Apr43May46

20252026

Who the violence touches

92% of victims are men — 73% aged 18–44.

Under 101
10–110
12–130
14–153
16–172
18–1914
20–2421
25–2933
30–3437
35–3920
40–4424
45–4916
50–5413
55–594
60–644
65+2
Unknown11

Homicide victims by age, January 1 – May 31, 2026. 189 male · 16 female.

Reading the numbers honestly

Violence here is concentrated, not ambient

  • Puerto Rico's homicide rate runs well above the U.S. average — that's the number that makes headlines. But victims are overwhelmingly young men, and police attribute the large majority of killings to drug-trade disputes between people who know each other, not random attacks.
  • For residents and visitors outside that world, day-to-day risk looks very different from the topline rate: reported robbery, burglary, and theft rates run at or below what large U.S. metros post.

Sources: Instituto de Estadísticas — violence data releases · FBI Crime Data Explorer — national benchmarks

These are reported crimes

  • Homicide counts are close to complete — bodies are counted. Property-crime counts depend on people filing reports, and reporting rates differ between towns, crime types, and eras. A low larceny number can mean little larceny or little reporting.
  • Comparisons are most reliable within the same category over time (this year vs last year), and least reliable between towns with very different populations and police coverage.

Sources: PRPD statistics division reports

If you're deciding where to live

  • Look at the violent-crime column, not the total — the total is dominated by larceny, which tracks retail density more than danger. A metro town with a mall posts more thefts than a mountain town with a plaza.
  • Then visit. Crime statistics describe a whole municipio; the block-to-block texture (lighting, occupancy, foot traffic at night) is what you'll actually live with, and no table captures it.

Sources: 787daily — cost of living by town

Every town, side by side

Click a column to sort. Counts are 2026 year-to-date; the rate column is full-2025 violent crime per 10,000 residents. Every town links to its full page.

TownHomicidesViolentAll Type IViolent /10k ('25)
Adjuntas091812.8
Aguada0224714.4
Aguadilla34910723.6
Aguas Buenas263012
Aibonito1184513
Añasco011204.7
Arecibo57315216.9
Arroyo0122823.4
Barceloneta087918.1
Barranquitas0276618.3
Bayamón1314177221.4
Cabo Rojo3235415.5
Caguas35935113.8
Camuy0144313.1
Canóvanas6449819.1
Carolina716763725.6
Cataño2166222
Cayey32911220.6
Ceiba3102918.6
Ciales0104413.5
Cidra013329
Coamo624329.5
Comerío092420.1
Corozal1237311.6
Culebra1512—
Dorado1179019.2
Fajardo2309831.8
Florida071711.1
Guánica292029.7
Guayama56612639.1
Guayanilla061316.3
Guaynabo5281287
Gurabo2137213.3
Hatillo2185611.4
Hormigueros011284.5
Humacao34213727.9
Isabela0205717.9
Jayuya072813.5
Juana Díaz52658—
Juncos2174320.3
Lajas18258.1
Lares0102510.3
Las Marías06719.2
Las Piedras2255623.3
Loíza74911838.4
Luquillo1179429.8
Manatí0159918
Maricao051118.9
Maunabo0131929.3
Mayagüez6459512.5
Moca0152710.4
Morovis7287316
Naguabo4244329.1
Naranjito093810.6
Orocovis0123620.5
Patillas2294224.4
Peñuelas2303513.2
Ponce159126717.9
Quebradillas0153513.1
Rincón031617.8
Río Grande54314720.8
Sabana Grande07149.7
Salinas0558124.8
San Germán115397.8
San Juan374691,80835.3
San Lorenzo222769.6
San Sebastián0214114.7
Santa Isabel2215533
Toa Alta2307311.4
Toa Baja45823819.8
Trujillo Alto45415318.5
Utuado0153915.6
Vega Alta43810621.2
Vega Baja56615518.4
Vieques1143620.6
Villalba071222.6
Yabucoa2265522
Yauco1133613.5

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These are reported incidents compiled by the police bureau — not victimization surveys. Reporting rates vary by crime type and town, and small towns' per-capita rates swing hard on a handful of incidents. Use the numbers for orientation, not verdicts.