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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 – July 31, 2026 (prior-year figures: same period + full 2025).

Reported Type I incidents

11,444

January 1 – July 31, 2026

▼ 2% vs same period 2025

Homicides

269

January 1 – July 31, 2026

▲ 4% vs same period 2025

Homicide rate, full 2025

14.1 /100k

463 homicides · 3.3M 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

Jan40Feb39Mar37Apr43May50Jun41Jul19

20252026

Who the violence touches

92% of victims are men — 71% aged 18–44.

Under 101
10–110
12–130
14–153
16–174
18–1915
20–2428
25–2943
30–3444
35–3929
40–4432
45–4922
50–5416
55–597
60–645
65+6
Unknown14

Homicide victims by age, January 1 – July 31, 2026. 247 male · 22 female.

What's behind it

Drug trade85
Unknown84
Revenge/dispute58
Fights24
Gender violence10
Robbery5
Carjacking1
Child abuse1
Line of duty1

Police-attributed motive per homicide, January 1 – July 31, 2026.

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)
Adjuntas0122512.8
Aguada0287014.4
Aguadilla36514523.6
Aguas Buenas3164512
Aibonito2225813
Añasco012244.7
Arecibo910120716.9
Arroyo0133523.4
Barceloneta11110218.1
Barranquitas0337818.3
Bayamón162061,04421.4
Cabo Rojo3297515.5
Caguas79952213.8
Camuy0235713.1
Canóvanas85913219.1
Carolina722486925.6
Cataño3238022
Cayey43814620.6
Ceiba3134118.6
Ciales0135613.5
Cidra120509
Coamo631459.5
Comerío1234920.1
Corozal12910211.6
Culebra1516—
Dorado12513419.2
Fajardo44715031.8
Florida0102111.1
Guánica282029.7
Guayama58716939.1
Guayanilla082016.3
Guaynabo6371687
Gurabo5269713.3
Hatillo3267311.4
Hormigueros012344.5
Humacao36320327.9
Isabela0288117.9
Jayuya083313.5
Juana Díaz8407417.4
Juncos3296620.3
Lajas115368.1
Lares0184010.3
Las Marías061019.2
Las Piedras3347523.3
Loíza107016438.4
Luquillo32812929.8
Manatí02515818
Maricao051418.9
Maunabo1183129.3
Mayagüez86113112.5
Moca0173510.4
Morovis7379716
Naguabo4375829.1
Naranjito0104310.6
Orocovis0185120.5
Patillas2425824.4
Peñuelas2354013.2
Ponce1912436917.9
Quebradillas1224713.1
Rincón052417.8
Río Grande55418420.8
Sabana Grande013249.7
Salinas06910324.8
San Germán124607.8
San Juan456802,51635.3
San Lorenzo2321059.6
San Sebastián2377214.7
Santa Isabel2297633
Toa Alta24511111.4
Toa Baja49333519.8
Trujillo Alto108521718.5
Utuado0195015.6
Vega Alta45015421.2
Vega Baja89021418.4
Vieques1144420.6
Villalba0142822.6
Yabucoa2297722
Yauco1194813.5

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Is Puerto Rico safe? — common questions

Is Puerto Rico safe for tourists?
Yes, generally. Puerto Rico is a popular U.S. destination, and the main visitor areas — Old San Juan, Condado, Isla Verde, Rincón, Vieques, and Culebra — see far more petty theft than violent crime. Most violent crime is concentrated in specific neighborhoods and is rarely random. Use the same precautions you would in any U.S. city: don't leave valuables in a parked car, and stick to well-traveled areas at night.
How safe is Puerto Rico to live in?
It depends heavily on where. Puerto Rico's homicide rate — about 14.1 per 100,000 residents in the most recent full year — is higher than the U.S. average, but it varies enormously by municipality, and much of it is tied to conflicts between known parties rather than attacks on the general public. Our safety hub maps official Puerto Rico Police crime data town by town so you can see the real numbers for the places you're considering.
What is the crime rate in Puerto Rico right now?
Island-wide major (Type I) crime is down about 2% so far this year versus the same period last year, and homicides are up roughly 4%. The most recent full year recorded 463 homicides island-wide — about 14.1 per 100,000 residents. We refresh these figures monthly from the police bureau's own releases.
Which parts of Puerto Rico are safest?
Rates differ sharply by municipality — many coastal and tourist towns report lower violent-crime rates than parts of the San Juan metro area. Rather than generalize, our safety map ranks all 78 municipalities by violent-crime and homicide rates so you can compare the specific towns you care about.

More: Cost of living · Moving to PR · Explore towns

Ask about safety

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.