Is Poza Rica safe?
Mexico · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
Poza Rica is a city in Mexico, home to about 209k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,869 of 6,168, with a safety score of 39.1 out of 100 - in the lower part of the ranking, and the numbers below explain why.
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
- Guadalupe Victoria neighborhood, Poza Rica14 deaths · 1 event
- Acontitla6 deaths · 1 event
- Zacate Colorado6 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Poza Rica, 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 Poza Rica.
How safe is Poza Rica really?
No published homicide figure exists for Poza Rica 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.
Poza Rica also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 88 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 37 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Guadalupe Victoria neighborhood, Poza Rica (14 deaths), Acontitla (6 deaths), Zacate Colorado (6 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 Poza Rica. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 26 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~9× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 88within 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
- 209kurban centre · 4,859/km²
- Nearest airport
- 8 kmEl Tajín National Airport (PAZ)
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 Poza Rica 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
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 Poza Rica that gives 39.1/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Poza Rica compared with Xalapa
| Measure | Poza Rica | Xalapa | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 39.1 | 46.3 | −7.2 — better for Xalapa |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 26 /100k | 4.2 /100k | +21 /100k — better for Xalapa |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 88 | 662 | −574 — better for Poza Rica |
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 Xalapa →
Nearby cities
- Túxpam 39.9
- Teziutlán 33.6
- Tulancingo 41.2
- Xalapa 46.3
- Pachuca 53.2
- Apizaco 37.4
- Tlaxcala 42.6
- Texmelucan 37.1
See Poza Rica on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →