Albuquerque Crime Map: Neighborhood Crime & Safety Data

Albuquerque’s reported crime is clustered, not citywide in the same way everywhere. Based on APD data for 2018–2025 plus 2026 Q1–Q2 figures, last verified Aug. 11, 2026, most neighborhoods grade A or B, while a small number post lower grades. The clearest citywide split is offense type: property crime is more common than violent crime, with risk listed at 1 in 52 versus 1 in 306.

Quick fact	What the data shows
Last verified	Aug. 11, 2026
Main data period	2018–2025, plus 2026 Q1–Q2
Neighborhood spread	176 neighborhoods analyzed
Grade pattern	127 A, 47 B, 2 C
Main citywide split	Property crime exceeds violent crime

What I take from this article is simple: the city average hides local variation. The headline city grade is C+, but that does not describe most neighborhoods well. The article says 99% of analyzed neighborhoods land in the A or B range, while only 2 of 176 come in at C or lower.

The map’s main use is local comparison. It points to Alta Monte and Santa Barbara/Martineztown as higher-rate examples in this dataset, while Anderson Hills, Volcano Trails, Valley Gardens, and Heritage East are listed among the lower-rate areas. That is a rate view, not just a raw incident count.

I would read the article’s main claim this way: where you look in Albuquerque matters more than the single city number. That is the practical verdict.

The piece also makes a second point that matters: income does not line up neatly with crime grades. It gives one lower-income neighborhood with an A+ grade and two lower-grade neighborhoods with lower median incomes, then warns against treating income as a stand-in for local crime risk.

On offense mix, the article says Albuquerque’s city pattern is driven more by property crime than violent crime. It reports a property-crime risk of 1 in 52 and a violent-crime risk of 1 in 306. It also says Albuquerque is 14% below the national average for violent crime but 5% above the national average for property crime on the measures used there. That means the city’s crime story changes depending on which offense group you mean.

I also think the article is right to focus on rates per 100,000 residents instead of raw totals. A raw pin map tends to stack incidents around shopping areas, main roads, and other busy places. That can make an area look worse than its resident risk would suggest. Using population-adjusted rates is a better fit for neighborhood comparison, though it still does not turn the map into a block-by-block risk tool.

The article is careful about limits, and I would keep those front and center:

• it uses reported incidents, not every crime that happened
• APD data can be revised after submission
• map points may not mark the exact address
• neighborhood results can shift if boundaries change
• city, neighborhood, and national figures are not always a direct one-to-one match unless the same system and period are used

So if I were using this article to answer, “Where is crime concentrated in Albuquerque?” my short answer would be: in a small set of higher-rate neighborhoods, not across most of the city evenly, and mostly in property-crime reports rather than violent-crime reports.

If I were using it to answer, “Is Albuquerque safe?” I would not use one-word labels. I would say this instead: the latest neighborhood grading in the article shows most areas scoring A or B, but citywide property-crime risk remains higher than the U.S. average, and the map should be read as a reported-incident pattern tool with limits.

Quick Facts: Albuquerque Crime Map at a Glance

This map uses the same data, place boundaries, and time ranges referenced in the citywide and neighborhood sections below. That matters because crime counts and crime rates can tell different stories.

Feature	Detail
Reporting Period	2018–2025 (annual); 2026 (quarterly) [1]
Historical Trend Window	10-year history of violent and property crimes [2]
Geographic Units	Neighborhood Associations, Police Beats, Area Commands, City Council Districts [4][5]
Primary Data Sources	Albuquerque Police Department (APD); FBI NIBRS [1]
Offense Groups	Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Property, Crimes Against Society [1]
Comparison Metric	Incidents per 100,000 residents
Last Verified	August 2026 (2026 Quarterly NIBRS Stats) [1]

APD switched to NIBRS in 2018, and the FBI converts those records to SRS so longer-term comparisons can still be made ^[1]. APD also notes that submitted data may be revised later ^[1].

The main comparison metric here is incidents per 100,000 residents. That helps put neighborhoods, the city, and the state on the same scale. Raw totals can make high-population areas look worse simply because more people live there. Rates adjust for population, which makes the citywide trend section easier to read next.

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What the Latest Official Data Shows

Citywide Violent and Property Crime Trends

Albuquerque’s violent crime risk is 1 in 306 residents. Its property crime risk is 1 in 52 residents, which is 5% above the national average ^[3].

Most reported incidents come from property crime, not violent crime. In practice, that means issues like auto theft and burglary account for much of what shows up in the citywide totals ^[3].

Those numbers are a starting point, not the whole picture. The map makes clear that crime is not spread evenly across Albuquerque.

Why Citywide Totals Can Hide Neighborhood Differences

Citywide totals can blur what’s happening on the ground. A small set of higher-activity areas, including Alta Monte and Santa Barbara/Martineztown, make up an outsized share of reported incidents. That pulls down the citywide grade even though many other neighborhoods have much lower rates ^[3].

That’s why neighborhood-level rates tell you more than one citywide number. The next part shows how the map converts incident counts into neighborhood rates.

How the Albuquerque Crime Map and Neighborhood Data Are Built

Geography, Crime Categories, and Rate Calculations

Citywide totals can blur what is happening from one part of Albuquerque to another. This map avoids that by placing incidents within official neighborhood boundaries and comparing rates, not just raw totals.

The map uses APD incident data and official City of Albuquerque neighborhood boundaries to assign each report to a neighborhood association, police beat, or area command. It does that with city GIS shapefiles matched to those boundaries ^[4][5].

Crime categories follow the FBI's NIBRS framework, which APD adopted in 2018 ^[1]. NIBRS sorts offenses into crimes against persons, crimes against property, and crimes against society. For this article, the neighborhood comparisons use the persons and property groups.

Raw counts alone can be misleading. A neighborhood with more people will often have more reported incidents simply because more people live there. To make the comparison fairer, the article converts counts into per-capita rates using U.S. Census Bureau population data from the 2020 Census ^[6]. That puts dense areas and lower-density areas on the same scale.

Data Component	Source
Incident locations	APD incident reports [4]
Neighborhood boundaries	City of Albuquerque neighborhood dataset and official Neighborhood Association boundaries from the city GIS dataset [4][5]
Crime classifications	FBI NIBRS (crimes against persons; crimes against property) [1]
Population baseline	U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census [6]

This method is meant to show which parts of Albuquerque have higher or lower reported crime per resident, rather than just where the city logged the most incidents.

Why This Article Uses a Rate-Based Neighborhood View

A raw point-cluster map often stacks incidents in busy shopping areas, main roads, and other high-traffic blocks. That can make a place look worse than it is for residents, since those areas draw more people and more activity during the day.

A rate-based neighborhood view helps correct for that by tying incident counts to the number of people who live in each area. In plain terms, it asks: how much reported crime is there relative to the resident population?

That is why the next section compares neighborhood rates instead of raw totals. Those rates make it easier to see where Albuquerque’s higher- and lower-risk areas cluster.

Neighborhood Crime Patterns Across Albuquerque

Higher-Rate and Lower-Rate Area Patterns

Using a rate-based view, Albuquerque breaks into a small group of higher-rate areas and a much larger share of lower-rate neighborhoods. In the 2026 neighborhood analysis, 127 of 176 areas received an A, 47 received a B, and 2 received a C ^[3][5].

The highest-rate areas include Alta Monte and Santa Barbara/Martineztown. Lower-rate areas include Volcano Trails, Heritage East, and Valley Gardens ^[3].

Violent Crime vs. Property Crime by Area

The type of crime matters, not just the location. Violent crime and property crime should be read on separate tracks.

Citywide, the risk of property crime - 1 in 52 - is about six times the risk of violent crime, which is 1 in 306 ^[3]. Albuquerque’s city crime map, launched in December 2024, lets users filter incidents by date and crime type ^[1][2]. That makes it easier to see whether a given area is shaped more by violent crime or by property crime.

Comparison Table for Key Albuquerque Area Groups

The table below sums up the main neighborhood patterns, using the same 2026 neighborhood analysis period and the same safety-grade system for each entry ^[3].

Area Group	Example Neighborhoods	Safety Grade	Pattern
Highest-crime-rate areas	Alta Monte; Santa Barbara/Martineztown; Citizens Improvement Comm. of Martineztown; South San Pedro; Los Volcanes	C− to B−	These areas appear near the top of the city's reported-crime list [3]
Most neighborhoods	127 of 176 rated A; 47 rated B; 2 rated C	Mostly A or B	99% of neighborhoods fall into the safe or very safe range [3]
Lowest-rate areas	Anderson Hills; Volcano Trails; Valley Gardens; Heritage East; Parkway	A+	Safest examples in the 2026 analysis [3]
Crime-risk split citywide	All Albuquerque	Violent crime 1 in 306; property crime 1 in 52	Property crime is much more common than violent crime [3]

Albuquerque’s violent crime rate is 14% below the national average, while its property crime rate is 5% above the national average ^[3].

How Albuquerque Compares With State and U.S. Rates

Using the Same Metric and Period for a Fair Comparison

APD has reported crime through NIBRS since 2018, and the FBI converts those records to SRS for longer-term comparisons ^[1]. That matters because a fair Albuquerque-to-U.S. comparison only works when both sides use the same reporting system and the same denominator.

Using the same rate basis as the neighborhood map:

Metric	Albuquerque	vs. National Average
Overall crime index	84	16% below the national benchmark of 100 [3]
Violent crime risk	1 in 306	14% lower [3]
Property crime risk	1 in 52	5% higher [3]

On this measure, Albuquerque sits below the national average for violent crime and above it for property crime.

How to Read the Crime Map Without Drawing Wrong Conclusions

Use the Albuquerque crime map to compare neighborhood patterns, then check those patterns against rate data. That matters because a map can show where reports cluster, but it does not tell the whole story on its own.

What Crime Maps Can Show

The APD map can show where reported incidents cluster. It also lets you separate crimes against persons from crimes against property ^[1]. That makes it useful for spotting broad differences across parts of the city, instead of lumping every report together.

It also supports up to 10 years of historical data ^[2]. So if one area lights up on the map, you can look back and see whether that area has had a long-running pattern or just a recent jump.

Used this way, the map can help you see:

• broad hotspot patterns
• differences between person crimes and property crimes
• whether activity looks recent or persistent over time

The map helps most when you treat it as a starting point, not the last word.

What Crime Maps Cannot Reliably Show

The limits are pretty straightforward. Some maps show calls for service, not confirmed crimes. Pins can also be off because of address-matching errors, and some exact locations are blocked. In plain terms, a dot may not sit on the actual incident address.

Raw counts can also skew the picture. A block near a transit hub or shopping center will usually show more dots than a quiet residential street. That does not mean the nearby residential area has a higher per-capita risk. It may just mean more people pass through that block, more activity happens there, or more reports are generated there. That is why this article focuses on neighborhood rates rather than raw dot totals.

The underlying data may change after first submission. As the City of Albuquerque states:

"APD's crime data system is dynamic and additional information may be added or refined after the data are sent to the FBI." ^[1]

So, when you use the map, note the date range you selected. Treat any single view as one piece of evidence, not a final answer.

Maps can show broad patterns, reported incidents, and shifts over time. They cannot pin down exact block-level risk or final counts.

Methodology, Limits, Last Verified Date, and Sources

This map’s neighborhood rates come from APD NIBRS incident data for 2018–2025, plus 2026 Q1–Q2 figures verified Aug. 11, 2026 ^[1]. Neighborhood patterns are grouped using official neighborhood associations, Area Commands, and police beats ^[4][5]. Per-capita rates use Albuquerque’s 2020 Census population of 419,429 ^[3]. For longer historical comparisons, the FBI converts NIBRS data to SRS ^[1].

There are a few limits to keep in mind. APD data can change after submission, so reported counts are not final ^[1]. The analysis covers only the City of Albuquerque boundary, and boundary changes can shift small-area results ^[5]. That matters because a neighborhood rate may move a bit even if incident patterns do not. For that reason, these rates work better as trend indicators than as precise block-by-block risk estimates.

Source List and Verification Notes

The APD crime map includes up to 10 years of historical trend data ^[2]. Neighborhood boundaries come from the City of Albuquerque open-data/GIS portal ^[4][5].

The table below shows the datasets, date ranges, and verification dates used in this section.

Dataset	Date Range	Last Verified	Source
Violent & Property Crime (Annual)	2018–2025	Aug. 11, 2026	APD NIBRS incident data [1]
Quarterly Crime Stats	2026 (Q1–Q2)	Aug. 11, 2026	APD NIBRS incident data [1]
Historical Crime Map	10-Year History	Dec. 2024 (Launch)	APD / City of Albuquerque [2]
Neighborhood Boundaries	Current	Nov. 2025	ABQ Open Data / GIS Portal [4][5]
Population Denominators	Current Estimate	Aug. 11, 2026	U.S. Census Bureau [3]

Offense categories follow the NIBRS structure: Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Property, and Crimes Against Society ^[1]. Those categories are useful for broad comparisons, but they do not turn the map into a street-level forecast. Think of the rates as a way to spot patterns over time, not as a precise measure for any one block or address.

Free Albuquerque Safety Research Tools on Aden's ZIP

If you're moving from a citywide view to one Albuquerque ZIP code, these free pages are a quick next step. Start with the city report, then narrow your look to one or two ZIPs. After that, check APD's map for reported incidents so you can compare ZIP-level context with incident locations ^[2].

Aden's ZIP Pages for Albuquerque Research

Page	What It Shows	Use For
Albuquerque City Report	Safety grades, ZIP spread, demographics	Reviewing citywide context first
ZIP 87122 Profile	Safety grade, population, income, home values [7]	Researching the city's highest-income area
ZIP 87108 Profile	Safety grade, population, income [7]	Researching a lower-income ZIP
ZIP 87102 Profile	Safety grade, population, home values [7]	General ZIP-level safety check
87121 vs. 87114 Comparison	Side-by-side poverty rates and home values [7]	Comparing two ZIPs directly
Bernalillo County Overview	County-level safety context	Adding county context

Use these pages to narrow the local picture after reviewing Albuquerque's crime map. They help you compare neighborhood context, but they don't replace incident-level checking on the APD crime map ^[2].

FAQs

How current is this Albuquerque crime data?

Albuquerque crime data changes over time as the police department adds new reports and updates older ones. The official APD crime map lets users filter incidents by date and crime type, which helps when you want to look at a specific period instead of a citywide total.

APD says the system keeps 10 years of history, but the map reflects a fixed reporting snapshot rather than a permanent final record. As APD updates its internal files, current totals can differ from figures it previously sent to or published through the FBI.

Which Albuquerque neighborhoods have the highest crime rates?

Albuquerque does not publish a set city ranking of neighborhoods by crime rate. If you want area-level crime data, the official route is to use Albuquerque Police Department and city tools that show incidents by place and time.

You can check crime data through the city’s crime statistics page, the ABQ Data portal, GIS maps, and APD’s crime mapping tool. Those tools let you look up incidents by neighborhood, police beat, date, and crime type.

How should I use this map when comparing neighborhoods?

Use the Albuquerque crime map to compare neighborhoods by filtering for incident type, date range, and crime category. You can then look at patterns across ZIP codes or other mapped boundaries by checking either the total number of reports or rates per 1,000 people.

A key limitation: Albuquerque Police Department data is dynamic, so map results can change as records are added, corrected, or reclassified over time. The dataset also follows the NIBRS framework, which groups incidents into person, property, and society offenses.