Safe Neighborhoods in Mexico City: How to Read the Crime Data
Perception surveys, victim surveys and police reports each measure something different. How to read them for a specific street, and the everyday precautions official sources recommend.
Mexico City has no official ranking of safe neighborhoods. Two official sources let you judge an area yourself: the city prosecutors’ crime reports, published by colonia on the city’s open data portal, and INEGI’s surveys, which measure how safe residents feel (ENSU, quarterly) and how many were victims (ENVIPE, yearly). In June 2026, 17.4% of Benito Juárez residents said their borough was unsafe, against 73.3% in Iztapalapa.
Where can you find official crime data?
Three sources cover different questions, and none answers “is this street safe” on its own.
| Source | Who publishes it | What it measures | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigation files (carpetas de investigación) | Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJ), on the city’s open data portal | Crimes reported to prosecutors, with date, type, borough and colonia | Updated regularly |
| ENSU (National Urban Public Safety Survey) | INEGI | Share of adults who feel unsafe in their city, for each of the 16 boroughs | Every quarter |
| ENVIPE (National Victimization Survey) | INEGI | Crimes people suffered, reported or not, by state | Once a year |
The prosecutors’ data is the only one that reaches the colonia level. It can be downloaded or explored on datos.cdmx.gob.mx, filtered by colonia, crime type and dates. The federal public security system (SESNSP) also publishes monthly crime figures by state and municipality.
Why do averages and crime maps mislead?
Most crime never reaches the data. INEGI’s ENVIPE 2026 results for Mexico City estimate that in 93.7% of crimes committed in 2025 there was no report or no investigation file was opened. Reports measure what people choose to file, which depends on trust in the authorities as much as on crime.
- Busy places look worse. Commercial districts such as the Centro, with large daily crowds and relatively few residents, generate many reports per resident. That says more about foot traffic than about the risk of living there.
- Crime types differ. A colonia with many phone thefts and one with fewer but more violent crimes can show similar totals. Filter by type.
- Borough averages hide streets. Every borough has calm and difficult areas, and a borough figure blends very different colonias.
- Close to home feels safer. ENVIPE 2026 found that 45.0% of adults in Mexico City consider their own colonia unsafe, while 74.1% say the same of the city as a whole.
ENVIPE also estimates 34,930 victims per 100,000 residents in Mexico City during 2025, with fraud, including consumer and bank fraud, at a rate of 15,065 per 100,000. Much of the crime people suffer happens online or by phone, not on the street.
Which boroughs score better or worse?
INEGI’s ENSU publishes perception figures for all 16 boroughs. In the June 2026 survey, as reported from INEGI’s tables, the lowest shares of residents who felt unsafe were in Benito Juárez (17.4%), Miguel Hidalgo (39.3%) and Coyoacán (43.2%). The highest were in Iztapalapa (73.3%), Xochimilco (69.6%) and Gustavo A. Madero (69.0%). In September 2026, Cuajimalpa had the largest improvement, from 53.4% to 43.7%, while the average across the 91 cities in the national survey was 58.1%.
Perception is not the same as risk, and a borough average is not your block. Several colonias in high-perception boroughs are quiet residential areas, and parts of low-perception boroughs have recurring problems. Use the borough figures to frame questions, then look at the colonia data.
How do you check a specific address?
- On the open data portal, filter the prosecutors’ crime data by the colonia and the last 12 months, and compare with the two or three neighboring colonias.
- Look at the crime types, not only the total: theft from cars, home burglary, street robbery and violent crime matter differently for a renter.
- Visit at different times, including after dark, and walk the route to the nearest Metro or Metrobús station.
- Ask the building administrator and neighbors about recent incidents and how the building controls access.
- Check natural hazards separately in the city’s risk map; our guide to the Mexico City Risk Atlas shows how.
For a comparison of rents, transit and character in the colonias most newcomers consider, see our guide to the best neighborhoods in Mexico City for expats.
What precautions do official sources recommend?
The places people fear most are ordinary ones. In ENVIPE 2026, 76.2% of adults in Mexico City said they felt unsafe at a street ATM, the highest share of any place listed. The city’s Public Security Ministry (SSC) has long advised the following:
- Withdraw cash inside bank branches, shopping centers or stores, during the day, rather than at a street ATM at night.
- For large withdrawals, ask for the free escort service the SSC’s bank police offers, which can be requested through its Mi Policía app.
- Cover the keypad, refuse help from strangers and do not use an ATM that looks tampered with.
- Carry only the cash you need and keep your phone out of sight on crowded transport.
At night, use an app ride or a taxi from a stand rather than hailing one on the street; our guide to taxis, Uber and DiDi explains how to check a car. In an emergency, call 911; our list of emergency numbers in Mexico City covers the other lines worth saving.
Bottom line
Before signing a lease, pull a year of crime data for the colonia and its neighbors, read it by crime type, and visit the street at night. Treat any list of “safe” or “dangerous” neighborhoods, including rankings by borough, as a starting point, not a verdict.
FAQ
Which is the safest borough in Mexico City?
By resident perception, Benito Juárez has had the lowest share of people feeling unsafe in INEGI’s ENSU surveys during 2026. That reflects how residents feel, not a guarantee for any street.
Why are crime numbers high in the Centro?
The historic center has a small resident population and very large daily crowds, so reports per resident run high. Most incidents there are thefts in busy places.
How often does INEGI update the ENSU?
Every quarter, with surveys in March, June, September and December. Results come out a few weeks later.
Does reporting a crime make a difference?
Reports are what fill the prosecutors’ data, so they shape where police resources go. You can file in person at a prosecutor’s office or, for some crimes, online.
