Photo: Elnogalense · CC BY-SA 4.0Recorded crime in Rio Rico, without a grade
The closest Safety Grade belongs to Nogales: D. Rio Rico has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Santa Cruz County. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Rio Rico alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Rio Rico
Policed by the county
Rio Rico is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Rio Rico. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Arizona towns with their own police figures are Nogales (D, 10 mi), Sahuarita (B+, 30 mi), Sierra Vista (C+, 40 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Rio Rico. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Santa Cruz County without police of their own, which include Rio Rico.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest Arizona towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nogales | D | 10 mi | 2.2 | 35.2 |
| Sahuarita | B+ | 30 mi | 0.9 | 9.2 |
| Sierra Vista | C+ | 40 mi | 2.1 | 15.7 |
| Tucson | D | 46 mi | 4.7 | 27.0 |
| Bisbee | B+ | 63 mi | 1.3 | 7.2 |
| Oro Valley | B+ | 64 mi | 0.6 | 10.7 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Rio Rico. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Rio Rico.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Nine people died in crashes on Rio Rico’s roads in 2019–2023
Rio Rico had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which nine people died. Most of these deaths (7 of 9) were on an Interstate passing through, so they say more about through-traffic than about the town’s own streets.
That is about what is typical for Arizona towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (8.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Rio Rico’s size would see about 9 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Rio Rico’s own rate (8.2) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Rio Rico and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Rio Rico
Is Rio Rico, AZ safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Rio Rico. The nearest Arizona towns with a grade are Nogales (D, 10 mi), Sahuarita (B+, 30 mi), Sierra Vista (C+, 40 mi).
Who polices Rio Rico?
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Rio Rico is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Santa Cruz County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Rio Rico.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.