s Puerto Vallarta Crime Statistics

HOW SAFE IS PUERTO VALLARTA?

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The #1 place in Puerto Vallarta for up-to-date safety information and coverage. 

Everyone by now has heard the so-called "drug war" that has been taking place in Mexico for several years now.  While the vast majority of this violence has happened in a narrow swath right along the US-Mexico border, affecting only a tiny fraction of Mexico, it has been widely reported that "Mexico is dangerous" by cable news and the blogosphere. 

Every crime, big or small, throughout the world's 14th largest and 11th most populated country is propagated as a reason to fear Mexico, regardless of how it affects you as a tourist. 

          Is Puerto Vallarta Safe?
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VIOLENT CRIMES IN PUERTO VALLARTA (2010)
 Please note that these are total crimes as they relate to the residents of Puerto Vallarta, and are not representative of crimes against tourists or in tourist areas, which are almost unheard of.
Crime 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Assault     755 692 737
Burglary 439 443 883 824 1139
Car Theft 176 208 250 325 404
Homicide 19 17 34 31 40
Rape     35 37 58
Robbery 200 219 190 193 246
Theft     189 217 238
Common Law Crimes 5034 4984 5266 5222 5981
 
City Population Crimes Rate
(per 1000)		 Homicides Homicide Rate
(per 100,000)
Puerto Vallarta 255,681 6,940 27.14 40 15.6
Mobile, AL 255,178 84,839 332.47 888 348.2
 
City Population Murder Rape Robbery Burglary Car Theft
Puerto Vallarta 255,681 40 58 247 1,139 404
Buffalo, NY 265,128 55 157 1,466 4,296 1,430
Fort Wayne, IN 257,009 23 96 314 2,140 287
Greensboro, NC 257,237 19 56 626 4,221 800
Jersey City, NJ 244,201 25 44 943 1,523 807
Mobile, AL 255,178 25 59 653 3,873 1,027
Norfolk, VA 234,100 36 90 593 2,156 920
Orlando, FL 240,222 18 113 672 4,015 1,193
St. Petersburg, FL 243,666 13 105 752 3,564 1,236
Stockton, CA 292,047 49 107 1,413 4,482 2,041
 
City Homicide Rate
 (per 100,000)		 Robbery Rate
 (per 1,000)		 Burglary Rate
 (per 1,000)
Puerto Vallarta 15.6 1.0 4.4
Orlando, FL 7.5 2.8 16.7
New York, NY 6.4 2.4 2.2
Chicago, IL 15.2 5.0 9.2
Anaheim, CA 2.1 1.5 4.7
Miami, FL 15.4 4.2 10.5
Las Vegas, NV 7.6 2.8 9.8
Atlanta, GA 17.3 4.0 14.9
Houston, TX 11.8 4.1 12.2
Philadelphia, PA 19.6 5.4 6.9
San Diego, CA 2.2 1.2 4.9
Los Angeles, CA 7.6 2.8 4.5
Washington, DC 21.9 6.5 7.0
Phoenix, AZ 7.6 2.1 10.1
Honolulu, HI 3.7 2.3 17.4
New Orleans, LA 49.1 2.7 10.4
San Francisco, CA 5.9 3.9 5.6
St. Louis, MO 40.5 6.0 18.9
Phoenix, AZ 7.6 2.1 10.1
West Palm Beach, FL 18.8 2.6 12.3
Baltimore, MD 34.8 5.2 11.8
 
City Homicide Rate
 (per 100,000)		 Robbery Rate
 (per 1,000)		 Burglary Rate
 (per 1,000)
New Orleans, LA 49.1 2.7 10.4
Flint, MI 48.5 6.1 33.4
St. Louis, MO 40.5 6.0 18.9
Baltimore, MD 34.8 5.2 11.8
Detroit, MI 34.5 6.2 19.0
Newark, NJ 32.1 5.7 6.9
Jackson, MS 23.5 6.2 27.7
Dayton, OH 22.3 5.1 22.2
Oakland, CA 22.0 7.1 12.1
Washington, DC 21.9 6.5 7.0
Buffalo, NY 20.7 5.5 16.2
Hartford, CT 20.7 4.5 8.1
Kansas City, MO 20.5 3.3 14.7
Richmond, VA 20.3 3.9 14.7
Cincinnati, OH 20.2 6.4 19.5
Rochester, NY 20.1 4.0 16.9
Miami Gardens, FL 20.0 3.2 12.0
Richmond, VA 19.9 3.6 8.6
Peoria, IL 19.2 2.7 12.7
Cleveland, OH 19.0 7.5 23.1
West Palm Beach, FL 18.8 2.6 12.3
Inglewood, CA 17.8 3.4 5.6
New Haven, CT 17.6 6.3 11.2
Pittsburgh, PA 17.6 3.8 9.4
Kansas City, KS 17.4 2.0 13.4
Atlanta, GA 17.3 4.0 14.9
Stockton, CA 16.8 4.8 15.3
Bridgeport, CT 15.8 4.0 10.4
Milwaukee, WI 15.7 4.8 10.1
San Bernardino, CA 15.6 3.2 11.6
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 15.6 1.0 4.4
Miami, FL 15.4 4.2 10.5
Norfolk, VA 15.4 2.5 9.2
Chicago, IL 15.2 5.0 9.2
Vallejo, CA 14.9 4.0 19.7
Portsmouth, VA 15.4 2.7 13.2
Tulsa, OK 13.5 3.5 18.2
Salinas, CA 13.2 2.5 9.4
Memphis, TN 13.2 4.8 19.4
Shreveport, LA 13.0 1.8 13.1
Little Rock, AK 13.0 4.4 22.0
 

Sources:  1 National Survey on Insecurity  2 Jalisco Quarterly Report

Country Homicide Rate
 (per 100,000)		 Murders
 (2010)		 Population
 (2010)
Honduras 72.8 6,236 7,466,000
El Salvador 65.9 4,004 6,071,774
U.S. Virgin Islands 60.0 66 109,750
Jamaica 51.3 1,430 2,785,800
Venezuela 48.0 17,600 2 29,105,632
Guatemala 44.0 5,960 13,550,440
Belize 42.2 132 312,698
St. Kitts & Nevis 40.1 20 49,898
Trinidad & Tobago 35.8 472 1,317,714
Columbia 34.5 15,238 44,205,293
The Bahamas 27.1 96 353,658
Puerto Rico 26.4 983 3,725,789
St. Lucia 26.4 44 166,526
Brazil 25.3 N/A 3 190,755,799
St. Vincent & Grenadines 23.0 24 104,217
Panama 21.7 738 3,405,813 
Dominican Republic 20.9 2,054 9,823,821
Dominica 19.2 15 72,813
Guyana 18.5 139 752,940
Ecuador 18.1 N/A 3 14,306,876
Mexico 17.9 20,127 112,337,000
Nicaragua 12.9 766 5,955,928
Paraguay 11.9 741 6,230,000
Mexico (Adjusted)1 11.7 11,837 101,141,072
Bolivia 11.4 1130 4 9,947,418
Barbados 10.9 31 285,653
Costa Rica 10.7 486 4,516,220
Haiti 10.6 878 8,249,574 
Grenada 9.3 10 107,818
Cayman Islands 9.1 7 54,878
Uruguay 8.8 309 3,510,386
Antigua & Barbuda 8.1 6 105,632
British Virgin Islands 7.9 2 25,383
Suriname 4.5 22 486,616
Argentina 3.4 1360 4 40,091,359
Peru 3.2 N/A 3 29,496,000 
Chile 2.9 501 17,094,270
1 Figure does not include the primary "drug war" states of Chihuahua, Durango, Guerrero and Sinaloa.
2 Figure has been quoted in various publications, but does not jive with officially quoted murder rate.
3 Government only released the homicide rate, and not the official murder tally.
4 Figure is from 2009.  No current 2010 tally was found during the research phase.
Population statistics are obtained either from the 2010 Census or from the CIA Estimates for July 2010.

THE HEADLINES YOU DON'T HEAR ABOUT

6/20/11 - Study: Puerto Vallarta is One of the Safest Tourist Destinations
11/8/10 - ABC News: Seven Safer Places to Visit in Mexico
7/01/10 - AARP: Puerto Vallarta One of the Best Places to Retire Abroad
5/22/09 - US News & World Report: World's Best Places to Visit
4/15/09 - LA Times: Mexico's Tourist Zones Much Safer Than Many in US

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These are the facts as they stand right now regarding safety in Puerto Vallarta.  Never depend on the ratings-based cable news channels or bloggers who don't live anywhere near Puerto Vallarta for your information, it is the least reliable source of verifiable information.  Other than the current local information you see above, check with your travel agent, the local consulate for your country serving Puerto Vallarta, or find current reports from locals and current visitors on various internet forums for Puerto Vallarta.

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