Photo: Wkstormwater · CC BY-SA 4.0Universal City reports more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Universal City’s police in 2023–2025, it grades C− for safety: #369 of 471 graded towns in Texas.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of TX” is every other Texas 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 Universal City
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Texas towns on Universal City’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Schertz (B), Selma (C), Converse (C−), Live Oak (D). Randolph AFB is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
A college town
Universal City is home to Northeast Lakeview College, with 6,030 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 7% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read 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 Universal City’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (2.5) 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.
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 Texas.
Show as a table
| Year | Universal City property | Rest of Texas property | Universal City violent | Rest of Texas violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 26.5 | 27.3 | 3.1 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 33.5 | 26.3 | 3.1 | 4.7 |
| 2024 | 21.0 | 23.9 | 2.6 | 4.4 |
| 2025 | 20.3 | 20.6 | 1.7 | 3.8 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 20 property crimes reported
And about 2 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Universal City’s police reported 149 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.3 in the rest of Texas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Universal City | Rest of Texas | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.1 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
449 crimes reported in 2025
34 violent and 415 property, as reported to the FBI by Universal City’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
Two people died in crashes on Universal City’s roads in 2019–2023
Universal City had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is fewer than is typical for Texas towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (7.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Universal City’s size would see about 7 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Universal City’s own rate (2.0) 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.
Universal City and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal City | C− | 2.5 | 24.9 |
| Selma | C | 2.1 | 22.6 |
| Schertz | B | 1.7 | 8.9 |
| Converse | C− | 4.1 | 15.9 |
| Live Oak | D | 1.9 | 37.9 |
| Randolph AFB | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Randolph AFB is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
Texas towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal City | C− | 2.5 | 24.9 |
| Iowa Colony | A− | 0.9 | 6.0 |
| Glenn Heights | B− | 2.3 | 8.2 |
| Red Oak | C+ | 1.7 | 16.0 |
| La Marque | C− | 4.8 | 21.0 |
| Alamo | D | 7.1 | 35.4 |
The five graded Texas towns closest to Universal City’s population (20,399), 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 Universal City. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Universal City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (20,398 in 2025); our figure for Universal City is 20,399 (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 Universal City
Is Universal City, TX safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Universal City reports more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #369 of 471 in Texas. Its police reported 2.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.3 in the rest of Texas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Universal City?
2.5 violent and 24.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Texas reports 4.3 and 23.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Universal City?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
Is Universal City safer than Selma?
Selma reports less crime per resident than Universal City: Selma grades C for safety and Universal City C−. Selma’s police reported 2.1 violent and 22.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Universal City?
Universal City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Universal City”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Universal City.
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.