León scores 26 out of 100 (low safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 6073 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is León safe?

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

26.3Low · rank 6073 / 6,168
safer than 2% of ranked cities

León is a city in Mexico, home to about 1.4M people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 6,073 of 6,168, with a safety score of 26.3 out of 100 - in the lower part of the ranking, and the numbers below explain why.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country

Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 5,403 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (608 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.
UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country25 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Very high homicide rate32.3 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 12× the global city median.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Irapuato23 deaths · 13 events
12 de Diciembre neighborhood called La Texana, also known as El Pantano, Irapuato12 deaths · 1 event
Irapuato municipality11 deaths · 2 events

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of León, 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 León.

How safe is León really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: León recorded 32 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - roughly 12 times the global city median. 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.

Crime statistics are not the main story here: the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 5,403 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of León across 608 events in 2022-2024. That is active-conflict territory, and ordinary crime figures say nothing about it. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Irapuato (23 deaths), 12 de Diciembre neighborhood called La Texana, also known as El Pantano, Irapuato (12 deaths), Irapuato municipality (11 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 León. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 32 /100kcity-measured, 2024 · ~12× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 5,403within 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: 1.4Murban centre · 7,236/km²

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 León 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%11

Peace25%7

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 León that gives 26.3/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

León compared with Aguascalientes

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours León, red favours Aguascalientes.
Measure	León	Aguascalientes	Difference
Safety score	26.3	46.1	−19.8 — better for Aguascalientes
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	32 /100k	4.9 /100k	+27 /100k — better for Aguascalientes
Conflict deaths within 100 km	5,403	480	+4,923 — better for Aguascalientes

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 Aguascalientes →

Nearby cities

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