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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 – June 30, 2026 (prior-year figures: same period + full 2025).

Reported Type I incidents

9,856

January 1 – June 30, 2026

▼ 2% vs same period 2025

Homicides

245

January 1 – June 30, 2026

▲ 9% 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

Jan40Feb39Mar37Apr43May48Jun38

20252026

Who the violence touches

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

Under 101
10–110
12–130
14–153
16–174
18–1914
20–2427
25–2940
30–3441
35–3923
40–4430
45–4921
50–5415
55–596
60–645
65+2
Unknown13

Homicide victims by age, January 1 – June 30, 2026. 226 male · 19 female.

What's behind it

Drug trade78
Unknown72
Revenge/dispute56
Fights22
Gender violence10
Robbery4
Carjacking1
Child abuse1
Line of duty1

Police-attributed motive per homicide, January 1 – June 30, 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
Aguada0245414.4
Aguadilla35512623.6
Aguas Buenas2123912
Aibonito1205213
Añasco012224.7
Arecibo78817716.9
Arroyo0133023.4
Barceloneta1119018.1
Barranquitas0307018.3
Bayamón1617390321.4
Cabo Rojo3246515.5
Caguas57644313.8
Camuy0175013.1
Canóvanas85512219.1
Carolina720174925.6
Cataño2197022
Cayey43713220.6
Ceiba3103318.6
Ciales0135213.5
Cidra117429
Coamo626389.5
Comerío1194120.1
Corozal1258611.6
Culebra1514—
Dorado12110519.2
Fajardo23211531.8
Florida081811.1
Guánica271929.7
Guayama58115039.1
Guayanilla071816.3
Guaynabo5321437
Gurabo5188213.3
Hatillo2236611.4
Hormigueros011304.5
Humacao35117727.9
Isabela0236617.9
Jayuya072913.5
Juana Díaz8326517.4
Juncos3265620.3
Lajas115358.1
Lares0143310.3
Las Marías06719.2
Las Piedras3296223.3
Loíza95814138.4
Luquillo12110829.8
Manatí02212218
Maricao051218.9
Maunabo0152529.3
Mayagüez85411412.5
Moca0173610.4
Morovis7328516
Naguabo4284829.1
Naranjito093810.6
Orocovis0174220.5
Patillas2375324.4
Peñuelas2354013.2
Ponce1810832217.9
Quebradillas0184113.1
Rincón042117.8
Río Grande54916720.8
Sabana Grande010189.7
Salinas0639324.8
San Germán125537.8
San Juan445882,16635.3
San Lorenzo227959.6
San Sebastián1265214.7
Santa Isabel2296733
Toa Alta2378811.4
Toa Baja48329719.8
Trujillo Alto77418918.5
Utuado0154415.6
Vega Alta44412521.2
Vega Baja68619018.4
Vieques1144020.6
Villalba0112222.6
Yabucoa2266022
Yauco1154113.5

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Cost of living by town Explore towns Everything relocation

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 9%. 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.