If you only look at the statistics, Albuquerque is not a safe place to visit. It is consistently ranked on lists of most dangerous cities in the United States.
If you talk to residents of the city, you will get a different perspective, with many saying the city is not the ‘hell hole’ or ‘war zone’ the media portrays it to be.
Other have even said it is ‘completely safe’, save for certain ‘hot spots’ within the city.
Lets further explore some crime rates, crime stats and maps to give you a better understanding of how safe Albuquerque really is.
Is Albuquerque safe?
Statistically speaking, Albuquerque is a not a safe city. It’s crime of 1,539.68 per 100,000 residents is significantly higher than the national average and is one of the highest crime rates in the nation. Its property crime rate of 4,977.52 per 100,000 residents is also significantlhy high as well.
What is Albuquerque’s crime rate?
In 2021 Albuquerque reported 8,792 violent crimes and had a crime rate of 1,539.68 per 100,000 residents. Albuquerque’s crime rate is nearly 4 times greater than the national average.
Here’s a table showing you the crime rate over the last 4 years.
Population
Violent Crime
Albuquerque Crime Rate
2018
550,152
8,271
1,503.40
2019
557,527
8,180
1,467.19
2020
564,559
7,940
1,406.41
2021
571,027
8,792
1,539.68
Does Albuquerque have a high crime rate?
Albuquerque does have a high crime rate. It’s violent crime rate, property crime rate and murder rate are well above the national average. Albuquerque has a similar crime rate to cities like Baltimore, San Bernardino and New Orleans.
Here’s a scale to give you some perspective on Albuquerque’s crime rate:
Albuquerque’s crime rate breakdown
Violent Crime Rate
In 2021, Albuquerque reported 8,792 violent crimes: 116 homicides, 895 rapes, 1,877 robberies and 5,904 aggravated assaults.
You have a 1 in 65 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Albuquerque.
Year over year violent crime has increased 11%.
*Violent crimes include; homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults.
Albuquerque’s Murder Rate
In 2021, Albuquerque reported 116 murders and had a murder rate of 20.49 per 100,000 residents.
Albuquerque’s murder rate is more than 3 times greater than the national average.
Year over year murder has increased by 53%.
You have a 1 in 4,881 chance of becoming a victim of murder in Albuquerque.
As of March 25, 2022, there have already been 24 homicides reported in Albuquerque.
Albuquerque’s Property Crime Rate
In 2021 Albuquerque reported 28,423 property crimes and had a property crime rate of 4,977.52 per 100,000 residents.
Albuquerque’ property crime rate is 2.5 times greater the national average.
Year over year property crime has decreased by 4%.
You have a 1 in 20 chance of becoming a victim of property crime in Albuquerque.
*Property crimes include; burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson
Albuquerque’s crime rate vs other cities in New Mexico (2020)
Here’s a graph showing you how Albuquerque’s crime rate compares to other cities in New Mexico. Albuquerque had the highest crime rate of all the cities listed in 2020.
City
Population
Violent Crime Rate (2020)
1. Albuquerque
564,559
1,406.41
2. Farmington
46,624
1,134.61
3. Roswell
48,422
749.66
4. Hobbs
40,508
673.94
5. Carlsbad
32,238
604.88
6. Clovis
38,567
531.54
7. Las Cruces
111,385
448.00
8. Alamogordo
30,898
271.86
9. Santa Fe
87,505
145.13
10. Rio Rancho
104,046
72.08
Albuquerque’s Crime Rate Comparison
Here’s a list of the top 20 most dangerous cities in the United States ranked by violent crime rates. Albuquerque had the 17th highest crime rate in the country.
How are Albuquerque’s crime rates calculated?
Crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population; the result is multiplied by 100,000.
For example, in 2021 there were 8,792 violent crimes in Albuquerque and the population was 571,027. This equals a crime rate of 1,539.68 per 100,000 residents.
In 2021, Albuquerque reported 37,215 total crimes, which is a 1% decrease over 2020.
In 2021, Albuquerque reported 8,792 violent crimes, which is a 11% increase over 2020.
In 2021, Albuquerque reported 116 murders, which is a 53% increase over 2020.
In 2021, Albuquerque reported 28,423 property crimes, which is a 4% decrease over 2020.
Neighborhoods to avoid in Albuquerque
According to the Albuquerque Journal, 44% of all murders, 36% of all robberies, and half of all shootings in the city occurred in five pockets that contain a total of 57,292 residents, or around 10.23% of the Albuquerque population.
Is Downtown Albuquerque safe?
Downtown Albuquerque is one of the safest parts of the city, although many residents advise steering clear of Central Avenue.
To encourage tourism, Downtown Albuquerque is being revitalized, and the area is quite an attractive place.
Is the public transportation in Albuquerque safe?
The public transportation system in Albuquerque is handled by the ABQ Transit and it offers many routes that interweave throughout the entire city.
The transit is generally a safe option to use during normal commuting hours (7am – 6pm), however we recommend that you use a taxi or ride sharing service outside of those hours. At night there are less people using the buses and it can get sketchy.
If you are taking the bus, you might encounter some weird and erratic passengers, but if you just ignore them, then you should be fine.
Is Albuquerque safe at night?
Albuquerque is not the safest place at night, especially in the areas mentioned above. Stay clear of those areas and be aware that streets and squares that are perfectly safe to visit in the daytime can be questionable and sketchy at night.
Stay in well lit and populated places at night and avoid walking through desolate areas at night.
What do residents of Albuquerque say about it’s safety?
I think the stuff in the media about property and auto theft is definitely true. That said, the thing about reading things online is that it’s always going to sound far worse than reality. The media selects people who have something out of the ordinary happen to them. Most people lead relatively boring lives and don’t really have anything to say and you never get those viewpoints. Albuquerque is not perfect, but it’s not the third world warzone some people like to portray it to be.
People often say "Albuquerque is not that bad" and "every city has bad areas" and that’s either ignorance or blatant lying. We need to stop trying to downplay the serious crime problem here. Residents who think that crime isn’t bad need to start looking around them. Just drive around neighborhoods and look at how many homes have bars on their windows and security signs out front. That’s not normal! Homeowners don’t put bars up because it looks nice, they do it because there is a crime problem and the problem is so bad that its worth the cost of putting on bars. The crime is here and easy for anyone to see.
I’ve lived here for almost 20 years and I’m pretty sure everything here has become worse. The stats are disturbing. And I’m convinced it’s even worse than that, because I don’t believe we’re getting honest numbers from the police and other authorities.
Crime IS a problem as is the chronic shortage of police officers, neither of which is likely to be resolved in the near future.
Yes, it is a pithole. I finally moved out of this sh*thole after growing up here. I’ve had cars stolen and broken into in every neighborhood I’ve lived. I even moved to a decent neighborhood (for Albuquerque) and it was still trash.
They steal more cars in Albuquerque than anywhere I have ever lived.
Albuquerque isn’t like it is in Breaking Bad. This town is mild to medium at worst. I been here 8 years and the worst crime I have experienced was my car being broken into and some hoodies being stolen
I’m from ST. Louis, and this city is far from bad. The most prevalent crimes here are theft, vandalism, and gang on gang stuff.
Auto theft/break-ins and property crime is quite bad in certain parts of the city. Outside the bad areas, you’d never know it to be different than any other sprawling western city. I have lived in places where I legitimately feared to leave my house at night, and during the day, made sure not to draw attention to myself. Albuquerque is nowhere near that.
Albuquerque isn’t good when it comes to crime, but it ain’t Baltimore, Detroit or Flint.
Tips to stay safe while visiting Albuquerque
Lock your car and leave nothing of any value whatsoever in it. Check it regularly.
Car theft is a pretty big issue so please don’t park it in an unsavory area.
Just totally write off the area west of Eubank, east of San Mateo, and south Copper or Central. There are exceptions, but for the most part that area is known as the “War Zone”
Get to know the tougher areas of Albuquerque and limit your visits during daylight.
Doing anything alone at night is a huge thing to avoid if possible (this goes for MEN, too).
Keep a low profile. Make sure you are dressed in a way that doesn’t make you look like a walking wallet. Don’t be walk around and displaying any overt signs of wealth, like jewelry and watches.
The answer on the street is always “NO”. If you are ever offered a gift while walking, just ignore and keep moving forward.
Always maintain awareness of your surrounding, including who is in front of you and who is behind you.
Stay on major roads/streets, and act like you belong here. Don’t drift off into alleys and unlit areas.
The homeless will hit you up for money, cigarettes, drugs, just keep walking and don’t engage them.
Mariska is a recovering attorney who gave up her professional job to discover new perspectives of life while traveling in a 2009 Ford Transit.
She has been living the van life for 3 years and has not looked back since.
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