Do you live in one of the murder capitals of New Mexico?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in New Mexico.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Land of Enchantment for 2023:
What city has the highest murder rate in New Mexico? The city with the highest murder rate in New Mexico is Gallup with 23.3 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in New Mexico with highest number of murders? The city in New Mexico with the highest number of murders is Albuquerque with 120 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in New Mexico ranked. There were ‘only’ 11 cities in New Mexico where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 18 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Land of Enchantment check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Mexico
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Mexico
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Mexico
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of New Mexico For 2023
/10
Population: 564,147
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 120 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.3 (2nd Most)
More on Albuquerque: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 21,460
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 5 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 23.3 (Most)
More on Gallup: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 30,029
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 6 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.0 (3rd Most)
More on Carlsbad: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 47,533
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 8 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 16.8 (5th Most)
More on Roswell: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 11,322
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 2 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 17.7 (4th Most)
More on Lovington: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 103,520
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 9 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 8.7 (9th Most)
More on Las Cruces: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 7,633
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 1 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.1 (6th Most)
More on Bloomfield: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 7,826
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 1 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.8 (7th Most)
More on Ruidoso: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 99,359
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 2 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 2.0 (11th Most)
More on Rio Rancho: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 8,937
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 1 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.2 (8th Most)
More on Grants: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of New Mexico
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in New Mexico for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 11 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in New Mexico and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In New Mexico For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in New Mexico with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
For more New Mexico reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In New Mexico
- Fastest Growing Cities In New Mexico
- Safest Places In New Mexico
- Best Cities For Singles In New Mexico
- Worst Places To Live In New Mexico
Detailed List Of The Places With The Most Murder In New Mexico For 2023
| Rank | City | Murders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albuquerque, NM | 120 |
| 2 | Gallup, NM | 5 |
| 3 | Carlsbad, NM | 6 |
| 4 | Roswell, NM | 8 |
| 5 | Lovington, NM | 2 |
| 6 | Las Cruces, NM | 9 |
| 7 | Bloomfield, NM | 1 |
| 8 | Ruidoso, NM | 1 |
| 9 | Rio Rancho, NM | 2 |
| 10 | Grants, NM | 1 |
| 11 | Clovis, NM | 1 |
