Photo: AllenS · Public domainReported crime per resident in Rio Rancho fell 32% from 2023 to 2025
Overall, Rio Rancho grades C for safety (#6 of 29 graded towns in New Mexico, and #80 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported to the FBI in 2023–2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of NM” is every other New Mexico city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Rio Rancho
1 of the 3 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 New Mexico towns on Rio Rancho’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Corrales (A−), Bernalillo (C−), Albuquerque (D−). Rio Rancho Estates is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Among New Mexico towns, closer to the middle
New Mexico’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Rio Rancho’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 79% of the 29 New Mexico towns we grade, against 33% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Rio Rancho’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 3.6 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of New Mexico (11.9) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of New Mexico
11.0 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (15 reported in 2025), below the rest of New Mexico (95.9) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Rio Rancho reports less crime per resident than 75% (#80). Places like it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Rio Rancho’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (3.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (12.6) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of New Mexico.
Show as a table
| Year | Rio Rancho property | Rest of New Mexico property | Rio Rancho violent | Rest of New Mexico violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16.7 | 40.5 | 4.6 | 10.2 |
| 2023 | 14.9 | 40.1 | 4.1 | 9.9 |
| 2024 | 13.4 | 38.5 | 3.2 | 9.1 |
| 2025 | 9.7 | 30.9 | 3.2 | 7.6 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Homicides and robberies
Rio Rancho’s police reported 2 homicides, 15 robberies and 365 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of New Mexico and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Rio Rancho | Rest of New Mexico | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.8 | 14.3 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 1.8 | 13.6 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 7.1 | 12.8 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 1.7 | 9.3 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Rio Rancho | Rest of New Mexico | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 38.2 | 171 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 11.8 | 111 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 8.0 | 102 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 13.1 | 75.7 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 10 property crimes reported
And about 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
1,481 crimes reported in 2025
365 violent and 1,116 property, as reported to the FBI by Rio Rancho’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
27 people died in crashes on Rio Rancho’s roads in 2019–2023
Rio Rancho had 26 fatal crashes in five years, in which 27 people died; 3 were pedestrians.
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 Rancho and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Rancho | C | 3.5 | 12.6 |
| Rio Rancho Estates | — | — | — |
| Corrales | A− | 1.5 | 3.7 |
| Albuquerque | D− | 11.7 | 44.3 |
| Bernalillo | C− | 5.1 | 15.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Rio Rancho Estates is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
New Mexico towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Rancho | C | 3.5 | 12.6 |
| Las Cruces | D− | 6.0 | 46.3 |
| Santa Fe | D− | 7.4 | 43.2 |
The five graded New Mexico towns closest to Rio Rancho’s population (114,419), by grade.
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.
- One number for all of Rio Rancho. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Rio Rancho’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (114,641 in 2025); our figure for Rio Rancho is 114,419 (2025 Census estimate).
- 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 Rancho
Is Rio Rancho, NM safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Rio Rancho reports more crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #6 of 29 in New Mexico. Its police reported 3.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.8 in the rest of New Mexico and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Rio Rancho?
3.5 violent and 12.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New Mexico reports 8.8 and 36.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Rio Rancho?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Rio Rancho in 2025?
Rio Rancho’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 1.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Rio Rancho safer than Corrales?
Corrales reports less crime per resident than Rio Rancho: Corrales grades A− for safety and Rio Rancho C. Corrales’s police reported 1.5 violent and 3.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Rio Rancho?
Rio Rancho’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Rio Rancho”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Rio Rancho.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, 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.