Is Salvaleón de Higüey safe?
Dominican Republic · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
Salvaleón de Higüey is a city in Dominican Republic, home to about 158k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 4,505 of 6,168, with a safety score of 59.2 out of 100, which lands it in the middle band of the ranking.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
- Elevated homicide rate10.9 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 4× 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 Salvaleón de Higüey really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Salvaleón de Higüey recorded 11 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2023 - roughly 4 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 Salvaleón de Higüey. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 11 /100kcity-measured, 2023 · ~4× 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
- 158kurban centre · 6,082/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 Salvaleón de Higüey 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 Salvaleón de Higüey that gives 59.2/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Salvaleón de Higüey compared with Santo Domingo
| Measure | Salvaleón de Higüey | Santo Domingo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 59.2 | 60.6 | −1.4 — better for Santo Domingo |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 11 /100k | 8.9 /100k | +2.0 /100k — better for Santo Domingo |
| 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 Santo Domingo →
Nearby cities
- La Romana 60.4
- San Pedro de Macorís 59.3
- Santo Domingo 60.6
- Baní 57.5
- San Francisco de Macorís 62.3
- La Vega 62.3
- Santiago de los Caballeros 62.1
- Puerto Plata 63.7
See Salvaleón de Higüey on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →