Poway scores 49 out of 100 (moderate safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5330 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 Poway safe?

United States · North America · data updated 2026-09-04

48.6Moderate · rank 5330 / 6,168
safer than 14% of ranked cities

Poway is a city in United States, home to about 284k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,330 of 6,168, with a safety score of 48.6 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.

Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)

Armed conflict nearbyUCDP recorded 2,252 deaths from organized violence within 100 km in 2022-2024 (1,352 events). Crime figures do not capture war risk.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Tijuana766 deaths · 52 events
Camino Verde neighborhood10 deaths · 8 events
Tijuana town9 deaths · 6 events

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

How safe is Poway really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Poway recorded 2.5 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - close to the global city median. United States's income inequality is middling (Gini 41.8) - 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 2,252 deaths from organized violence - war, armed conflict, militia or cartel fighting - within 100 km of Poway across 1,352 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 Tijuana (766 deaths), Camino Verde neighborhood (10 deaths), Tijuana town (9 deaths).

What the travel advisories say

The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for United States without any avoid-travel warning in force. 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 United States

Terrorism in the USA · Protecting your belongings · Violent crime · Protests · Personal ID · Alcohol laws · Illegal drugs · LGBT+ travellers · Road travel · Vehicle safety · Petrol stations · Air travel · Snowstorms · Hurricanes · +6 more

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

The numbers

Homicide rate: 2.5 /100kcity-measured, 2024
Conflict deaths: 2,252within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 41.8country, 2024
Human development: HDI 0.938country, 2023
Income: $89,490/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 284kurban centre · 2,198/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 12.7 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 64/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 74/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 64/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 3.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.84Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 7.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 98%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 3.7 doctors /1k2.7 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in United States

Earthquake: 7.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone: 7.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Flood: 7.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami: 7.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought: 4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe United States as a whole, not Poway specifically.

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

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

How the score works

Low homicide40%56

Peace25%16

Equality25%52

Development10%94

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 Poway that gives 48.6/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Poway compared with San Diego

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Poway, red favours San Diego.
Measure	Poway	San Diego	Difference
Safety score	48.6	48.6	+0.0
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	2.5 /100k	2.5 /100k	±0.0 /100k
Conflict deaths within 100 km	2,252	2,255	−3 — better for Poway

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

Nearby cities

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