Tapachula scores 37 out of 100 (low safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 5940 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 Tapachula safe?

Mexico · North America · data updated 2026-09-04

36.7Low · rank 5940 / 6,168
safer than 4% of ranked cities

Tapachula is a city in Mexico, home to about 307k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,940 of 6,168, with a safety score of 36.7 out of 100, placing it clearly below the global midpoint.

US 2/4 Exercise increased caution UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country

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 rate30.3 homicides per 100,000 per year (city-measured), about 11× the global city median.

Deadliest recorded locations nearby

Frontera Comalapa60 deaths · 1 event
Nueva Morelia village20 deaths · 1 event
Nueva Morelia, a town in the municipality of Chicomuselo, Chiapas11 deaths · 1 event

UCDP-recorded organized-violence deaths within 100 km of Tapachula, 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 Tapachula.

How safe is Tapachula really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Tapachula recorded 30 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - roughly 11 times the global city median. 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.

Tapachula also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 138 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 29 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss. The deadliest recorded locations in that radius were Frontera Comalapa (60 deaths), Nueva Morelia village (20 deaths), Nueva Morelia, a town in the municipality of Chicomuselo, Chiapas (11 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 Tapachula. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 30 /100kcity-measured, 2024 · ~11× the global city median
Conflict deaths: 138within 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: 307kurban centre · 5,588/km²

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 Tapachula 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

Low homicide40%12

Peace25%46

Equality25%50

Development10%79

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 Tapachula that gives 36.7/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Tapachula compared with Coatepeque

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Tapachula, red favours Coatepeque.
Measure	Tapachula	Coatepeque	Difference
Safety score	36.7	39.8	−3.1 — better for Coatepeque
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	30 /100k	23 /100k	+7.5 /100k — better for Coatepeque
Conflict deaths within 100 km	138	33	+105 — better for Coatepeque
Income inequality (Gini)	42.6	45.2	−2.6 — better for Tapachula
Human development (HDI)	0.789	0.662	+0.127 — better for Tapachula
Road deaths	12.8 /100k	22.9 /100k	−10.1 /100k — better for Tapachula
Rule of law	37/100	40/100	−3/100 — better for Coatepeque
Corruption perceptions	27/100	26/100	+1/100 — better for Tapachula
Air quality (PM2.5)	16.6 µg/m³	29.7 µg/m³	−13.1 µg/m³ — better for Tapachula
Natural-hazard risk	4.9/10	5.9/10	−1.0/10 — better for Tapachula

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Country-level rows describe the two countries, not the cities themselves. Full report for Coatepeque →

Nearby cities

Coatepeque, Guatemala 39.8
San Pedro Sacatepéquez [San Marcos], Guatemala 36.9
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala 40.4
Mazatenango, Guatemala 38.7
Totonicapán, Guatemala 38.2
Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Guatemala 39.0
Comitán 35.8
Chimaltenango, Guatemala 39.3

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