There are really dangerous places in New Mexico.
Some might say it’s because of the proximity to the border, some say the state needs to offer better jobs with competitive salaries, and some might say that it’s just people being people; any way you look, the numbers don’t lie.
How’d we determine the most dangerous places in New Mexico? We analyzed the FBI’s latest crime report for violent crime and property crime statistics for every place with over 5,000 residents.
The residents of New Mexico should not be too shocked to find so many dangerous places, considering the Land of Enchantment is the most dangerous state in the country.
937 violent crimes /100k · 5,979 property crimes /100k · #5 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Taos County, New Mexico
Located in the Sangre de Cristos Mountains in Northern New Mexico, the artist residents of Taos have a 1 in 16 chance of being a victim of a property crime, which is a lot for a town of 6,406. But the good news is that crime is no change from last year.
Taos is one of the most diverse cities in New Mexico. But it also is number 1 on the most dangerous cities in New Mexico for 2026.
If you’re thinking about relocating or retiring to Taos to experience the clean air and mythical light, just know that this town is also known as one of the worst places to live in New Mexico.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1,182 violent crimes /100k · 4,629 property crimes /100k · #2 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Bernalillo County, New Mexico
Ever seen Breaking Bad? Then you might already think of Albuquerque as a dangerous place. That well-respected TV series told the story of a chemistry teacher turned violent drug dealer — a dark tale set in New Mexico’s biggest city.
Fictional gang wars aside, Albuquerque suffers many of the problems endemic to large cities. That includes crime. As such, it’s no surprise that the metro area ranks as the number 2 most dangerous location in New Mexico. In a population of 558,745, the community saw 103 murders and 349 sexual assaults. Albuquerque also experiences high rates of burglaries, robberies, arsons, and car thefts.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
1,504 violent crimes /100k · 3,896 property crimes /100k · #1 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
McKinley County, New Mexico
Located in the northwest corner of New Mexico, Gallup is famous for being mentioned in the song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”. But now, Gallup is also famous because it ranks sixth highest in property crime and highest in violent crime, making it the most dangerous city in New Mexico for 2026. These numbers may be why Gallup is also known for being one of the worst places to live in New Mexico.
Gallup experienced 301 violent crimes, mostly aggravated assault. And of the property crimes, residents experienced 559 personal property crimes. For a city with a population of 20,019 those numbers are high. So if you’re taking a ride down Route 66 and stop in Gallup, watch out for suspicious characters and keep your valuables close to you.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1,159 violent crimes /100k · 4,235 property crimes /100k · #3 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Valencia County, New Mexico
Belen is Spanish for Bethlehem, but this small town is not quite peaceful. For a town of 7,508, Belen has a lot of crime, and it’s 188% higher than the national average. That means you have a 1 in 86 chance of being a victim of murder, rape, robbery, or aggravated assault. And you have a 1 in 23 chance of being a victim of property crime. That’s why Belen ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in New Mexico for 2026 and is also on the worst places to live in New Mexico list too.
Belen may be a historic community in the Rio Grande Valley but not a safe place to live.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
842 violent crimes /100k · 5,157 property crimes /100k · #7 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Santa Fe County, New Mexico
Santa Fe, the fourth most populous city in New Mexico and the state’s capital is unfortunately also the fifth most dangerous place to live in New Mexico.
Located at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Santa Fe is known for its Pueblo-style architecture and vibrant arts scene. However, a concerning issue of crime lies beneath the cultural richness and historical significance.
The city reported a total of 755 violent crimes in 2026, ranking it as the seventh highest in the state. This includes 4 murders and 58 cases of rape. Property crime, with a staggering figure of 4,623, ranked Santa Fe as the 2 most dangerous city for property crimes in New Mexico.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
720 violent crimes /100k · 4,873 property crimes /100k · #11 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Home to New Mexico State University, Las Cruces is the second-largest city in New Mexico. Residents in Las Cruces have a 1 in 138 chance of being a victim of a violent crime and a 1 in 20 chance of being a property crime victim.
Las Cruces is one of the fastest-growing cities and is one of the best places for singles in New Mexico. Not only that, it’s one of the most expensive places to live. Maybe that’s why crime rates are up 1 from last year.
If you live in the city of crosses, be sure to keep your purses, wallets, and cell phone in your sights at all times.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
790 violent crimes /100k · 3,751 property crimes /100k · #9 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Lea County, New Mexico
Hobbs, situated in Lea County, comes in as the seventh most dangerous city in New Mexico for the year 2026.
The statistics do not paint a pretty picture of this city in Lea County. With 308 violent crimes and 1,462 property crimes reported, Hobbs has the ninth highest violent crime rate and ranks seventh highest in property crime.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
951 violent crimes /100k · 2,459 property crimes /100k · #4 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
San Juan County, New Mexico
What is it about Farmingtons that make them such dangerous places? Farmington, New Hampshire, represented one of that state’s crime centers. Now, this Farmington presents the number 8 most dangerous communities in New Mexico.
Located in the north-central part of the state, Farmington once made headlines as the location of widespread UFO sighting. That was back in 1950. These days, flying saucers present less of a threat compared to more Earthbound dangers. Specifically, the town faces high rates of murder, rape, burglary, and arson. In terms of violent crime, Farmington reports 439 such violations in a year, in a community of 46,150 people.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
848 violent crimes /100k · 2,509 property crimes /100k · #6 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Chaves County, New Mexico
Known for the UFO incident of 1947 (think little green men), Roswell ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in New Mexico for 2026. Roswell is the county seat of Chaves County and is also the home to Eastern New Mexico University. If you live in Roswell, you can almost guarantee that someone has tried to steal your personal property with larceny numbers at 879.
Not only is Roswell on this list, but it’s also on the worst places to live in the New Mexico list. Because these numbers are no change from last year, Roswell residents and the little green men can’t be happy that.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
782 violent crimes /100k · 2,871 property crimes /100k · #10 most violent in New Mexico
Located in
Roosevelt County, New Mexico
Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 12,280 at the 2010 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New Mexico’s statewide median.
On the map
Where crime hits hardest in New Mexico
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the most dangerous cities in New Mexico for 2026?
Every year the FBI release two crime datasets on cities in New Mexico. First a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in New Mexico, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.
For our analysis, we focused on the 2024 data, specifically the 2024 Crime In The United States Report for New Mexico.
So what criteria did we use? Have a look:
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered New Mexico cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 27 cities in New Mexico.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 27 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in New Mexico — Taos. Any ties went to the smaller city.
This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. It is our eleventh time ranking the most dangerous places to live in New Mexico and is updated for 2026. Property crime in New Mexico runs about 57 percent above the national rate — worth a minute to compare home security systems before you sign a lease.
The full plate
Crime By City In New Mexico
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Dangerous Index | Population | Total Crimes Per 100K | Violent Crimes Per 100K | Property Crimes Per 100K | Murders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taos | 3.00 | 6,406 | 6,915 | 937 | 5,979 | 0 |
| 2 | Albuquerque | 3.00 | 558,745 | 5,811 | 1,182 | 4,629 | 103 |
| 3 | Gallup | 3.50 | 20,019 | 5,400 | 1,504 | 3,896 | 7 |
| 4 | Belen | 4.00 | 7,508 | 5,394 | 1,159 | 4,235 | 0 |
| 5 | Santa Fe | 4.50 | 89,652 | 5,999 | 842 | 5,157 | 4 |
| 6 | Las Cruces | 7.00 | 115,977 | 5,593 | 720 | 4,873 | 14 |
| 7 | Hobbs | 8.00 | 38,972 | 4,542 | 790 | 3,751 | 8 |
| 8 | Farmington | 9.00 | 46,150 | 3,411 | 951 | 2,459 | 2 |
| 9 | Roswell | 9.00 | 46,677 | 3,357 | 848 | 2,509 | 6 |
| 10 | Portales | 9.50 | 11,772 | 3,653 | 782 | 2,871 | 1 |
| 11 | Truth or Consequences | 10.50 | 5,985 | 3,292 | 819 | 2,473 | 1 |
| 12 | Los Lunas | 11.00 | 19,707 | 3,496 | 584 | 2,913 | 1 |
| 13 | Carlsbad | 13.00 | 31,243 | 3,316 | 525 | 2,791 | 1 |
| 14 | Bloomfield | 15.00 | 7,330 | 2,169 | 709 | 1,460 | 0 |
| 15 | Las Vegas | 15.00 | 12,816 | 2,122 | 655 | 1,467 | 1 |
| 16 | Artesia | 15.50 | 12,152 | 2,650 | 494 | 2,156 | 0 |
| 17 | Alamogordo | 16.00 | 31,401 | 3,181 | 334 | 2,847 | 0 |
| 18 | Grants | 18.00 | 8,953 | 2,044 | 424 | 1,620 | 0 |
| 19 | Aztec | 19.00 | 6,109 | 1,915 | 458 | 1,457 | 1 |
| 20 | Bernalillo | 19.00 | 9,144 | 1,794 | 481 | 1,312 | 0 |
| 21 | Raton | 20.50 | 5,961 | 1,476 | 470 | 1,007 | 0 |
| 22 | Edgewood | 21.50 | 6,113 | 1,636 | 393 | 1,243 | 0 |
| 23 | Rio Rancho | 22.00 | 112,817 | 1,658 | 318 | 1,339 | 8 |
| 24 | Sunland Park | 23.50 | 17,996 | 906 | 328 | 578 | 0 |
| 25 | Corrales | 25.50 | 8,653 | 624 | 231 | 393 | 1 |
| 26 | Los Alamos | 26.00 | 19,609 | 454 | 56 | 398 | 0 |
| 27 | Anthony | 26.50 | 8,733 | 321 | 80 | 240 | 0 |
Source: FBI UCR 2024. 27 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Locking It All Up In New Mexico
So what is the most dangerous city in New Mexico? After analyzing 27 cities in New Mexico, Taos takes the top spot as the most dangerous city in New Mexico based on the most recently reported FBI data — 2024.
The latest FBI crime data shows that Taos ranks as the most dangerous city in New Mexico for 2026.
The most dangerous cities in New Mexico are Taos, Albuquerque, Gallup, Belen, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Hobbs, Farmington, Roswell, and Portales.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Taos and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up. Not sold on New Mexico? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Most Dangerous Places To Live In New Mexico FAQs
Is New Mexico a dangerous state?
Yes, New Mexico is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #1 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in New Mexico ranks second most dangerous in the United States — 110.46% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Land of Enchantment ranks second most dangerous in the United States — 45.41% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.
Is Albuquerque, NM a dangerous city?
Yes, Albuquerque is a dangerous city. Albuquerque ranks as the #21 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Albuquerque might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Valley Gardens is the safest in Albuquerque, while Barelas is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.
Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Albuquerque ranks 17th highest in America — 149.36% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 25th highest in the United States — 75.75% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is ‘dangerous’. Despite the uptick in murders, it’s nothing like you’d see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.
