Is San Cristóbal de las Casas safe?
Mexico · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
San Cristóbal de las Casas is a city in Mexico, home to about 213k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,941 of 6,168, with a safety score of 36.7 out of 100, placing it clearly below the global midpoint.
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
- La Frailesca region of the La Concordia municipality, Chiapas38 deaths · 2 events
- La Concordia, Chiapas6 deaths · 1 event
- Tierra Blanca stretch of highway, located at the detour from the Valle Morelos colony to the La Concordia municipality5 deaths · 1 event
UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of San Cristóbal de las Casas, 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 San Cristóbal de las Casas.
How safe is San Cristóbal de las Casas really?
No published homicide figure exists for San Cristóbal de las Casas 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.
San Cristóbal de las Casas also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 217 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 23 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were La Frailesca region of the La Concordia municipality, Chiapas (38 deaths), La Concordia, Chiapas (6 deaths), Tierra Blanca stretch of highway, located at the detour from the Valle Morelos colony to the La Concordia municipality (5 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 San Cristóbal de las Casas. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 26 /100knational rate, 2024 · ~9× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 217within 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
- 213kurban centre · 5,616/km²
- Nearest airport
- 141 kmCarlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport (VSA)
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 San Cristóbal de las Casas 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 San Cristóbal de las Casas that gives 36.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
San Cristóbal de las Casas compared with Tuxtla Gutiérrez
| Measure | San Cristóbal de las Casas | Tuxtla Gutiérrez | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 36.7 | 44.1 | −7.5 — better for Tuxtla Gutiérrez |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 26 /100k | 8.8 /100k | +17 /100k — better for Tuxtla Gutiérrez |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 217 | 220 | −3 — better for San Cristóbal de las Casas |
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 Tuxtla Gutiérrez →
Nearby cities
- Tuxtla Gutiérrez 44.1
- Comitán 35.8
- Villahermosa 31.5
- Cárdenas 33.5
- Tapachula 36.7
- San Pedro Sacatepéquez [San Marcos], Guatemala 36.9
- Ciudad del Carmen 56.0
- Quetzaltenango, Guatemala 40.4
See San Cristóbal de las Casas on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →