Is Puerto Plata safe?
Dominican Republic · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
Puerto Plata is a city in Dominican Republic, home to about 134k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,086 of 6,168, with a safety score of 63.7 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Elevated homicide rate5.7 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 2× the global city median.
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Dominican Republic are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Puerto Plata really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Puerto Plata recorded 5.7 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2023 - roughly 2 times the global city median. Dominican Republic's income inequality is middling (Gini 39.0) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Dominican Republic at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-06-11). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Dominican Republic 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 Dominican Republic
Terrorism in Dominican Republic · Political demonstrations · Protecting yourself and your belongings · Bank card crime · Sexual assault · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · LGBT+ travellers · Swimming safety · Road travel · Road safety · Motorbikes and scooters · Traffic accidents · Reporting an accident · +4 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Dominican Republic — country-level, not specific to Puerto Plata. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 5.7 /100kcity-measured, 2023 · ~2× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 39.0country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.776country, 2023
- Income
- $26,980/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 134kurban centre · 4,069/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 64.6 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 76/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 54/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 37/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.68Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 13.5 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 45%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 2.4 doctors /1k0.8 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 0 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Dominican Republic
- Cyclone
- 10.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 9.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Dominican Republic as a whole, not Puerto Plata specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Dominican Republic (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Dominican Republic; 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 Puerto Plata that gives 63.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Puerto Plata compared with Santiago de los Caballeros
| Measure | Puerto Plata | Santiago de los Caballeros | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 63.7 | 62.1 | +1.6 — better for Puerto Plata |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 5.7 /100k | 7.2 /100k | −1.5 /100k — better for Puerto Plata |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Dominican Republic, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Santiago de los Caballeros →
Nearby cities
- Santiago de los Caballeros 62.1
- La Vega 62.3
- San Francisco de Macorís 62.3
- Cap-Haitien, Haiti 28.5
- Santo Domingo 60.6
- Baní 57.5
- San Pedro de Macorís 59.3
- Gonaïves, Haiti 27.5
See Puerto Plata on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →