World Safety Map

Is Guaymas safe?

Mexico · North America · data updated 2026-09-04

40.2Moderate · rank 5808 / 6,168
safer than 6% of ranked cities

Guaymas is a city in Mexico, home to about 122k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,808 of 6,168, with a safety score of 40.2 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.

Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)

  • UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country25 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
  • Very high homicide rate25.64 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 9× the global city median.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

  • Empalme5 deaths · 3 events

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Guaymas, 2022-2024, at the locations the source itself names. Conflict deaths, not street crime.

Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country

  • State of Baja California
  • State of Chihuahua
  • State of Sinaloa
  • State of Tamaulipas
  • State of Zacatecas
  • State of Guanajuato
  • State of Michoacán
  • State of Jalisco
  • State of Colima
  • State of Guerrero
  • State of Chiapas
  • city of Morelia accessed by federal toll roads 15D, 126 and 43; and the federal toll road 48D between the city of Morelia and the General Francisco Mujica airport
  • town of Pátzcuaro accessed by federal toll roads 14D and 15 from Morelia, and boat trips out to islands on Lake Pátzcuaro
  • Federal Highway 15D
  • Bolaños
  • Chimaltitán
  • Colotlán
  • Hostotipaquillo
  • Huejúcar
  • Huequilla el Alto
  • Mezquitic
  • San Martin de Bolaños
  • Santa Maria de los Ángeles
  • Totatiche
  • Villa Guerrero

Named in the official UK travel advice for Mexico (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Guaymas.

How safe is Guaymas really?

No published homicide figure exists for Guaymas itself, so the national rate stands in: Mexico recorded 26 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - roughly 9 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Mexico's income inequality is middling (Gini 42.6) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.

Guaymas also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 58 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 44 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Empalme (5 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The US State Department currently rates Mexico at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-08-11). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 25 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.

What to watch out for in Mexico

Terrorism in Mexico · Political situation · Using ATMs · Protecting your belongings · Scams · Drink and food spiking · Tainted alcohol · Methanol poisoning · Sexual assault · Kidnapping · Violence · Vehicle crime · Roadblocks · Unlicensed taxis · +18 more

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Mexico — country-level, not specific to Guaymas. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate
26 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~9× the global city median
Conflict deaths
58within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality
Gini 42.6country, 2024
Human development
HDI 0.789country, 2023
Income
$25,070/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population
122kurban centre · 3,045/km²
Nearest airport
131 kmGeneral Ignacio L. Pesqueira International Airport (HMO)

Straight-line distance from the city centre, not drive time. Scheduled-service airports only (OurAirports).

Country context for travelers

Road deaths
12.8 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability
54/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law
37/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions
27/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk
4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security
0.56Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality
16.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water
43%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity
2.6 doctors /1k1.0 hospital beds per 1,000
Malaria
0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only

Natural hazards in Mexico

Earthquake
8.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood
7.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone
7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami
5.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought
3.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Mexico as a whole, not Guaymas specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Mexico (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in Mexico; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%15
Peace25%56
Equality25%50
Development10%79

One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For Guaymas that gives 40.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Guaymas compared with Hermosillo

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Guaymas, red favours Hermosillo.
MeasureGuaymasHermosilloDifference
Safety score40.233.7+6.5 — better for Guaymas
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate26 /100k16 /100k+9.7 /100k — better for Hermosillo
Conflict deaths within 100 km582,245−2,187 — better for Guaymas

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Mexico, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Hermosillo

Nearby cities

See Guaymas on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America · Full travel briefings →