Cancún

Mexico · Latin America & Caribbean

48Safety indexModerate

U.S. State DeptLevel 2 · Increased caution

Global Affairs CanadaLevel 2 · Increased caution

UK FCDOLevel 2 · Increased caution

Smartraveller (AU)Level 2 · Increased caution

5/5metric categories covered

Open comparison

21.16°, -86.85°

Regional locator · ring ≈ the figure's geographic unit

The safety picture

A plain-language read of the sourced figures below

Cancún scores 48 out of 100 in our index and ranks safer than only 14% of the cities we score.

Its homicide rate is 13.5 per 100,000, about 8.4 times the median for the cities we track, and robbery is recorded at 164.7 per 100,000. Both figures cover the wider municipality rather than the resort area alone, and we calculated the rates from counts and a population, so take them as an upper bound. The robbery number is police-recorded and undercounts the real total. All four governments we track put Mexico at their second advisory level, increased caution, in agreement, and each advisory flags pickpocketing and scams for visitors. In a country-wide survey, 41.3% of people said they feel safe walking alone at night.

Safety dimensions

Larger area = more concern

Violent crime2

Robbery & theft0

Travel advisory33

The radar shows the three sourced, comparable risk measures (homicide, robbery, the strictest travel-advisory level). Tourist petty-crime signals are a different kind of measure — how often advisories mention them — so they are shown as rows under Tourist-specific incidents, not as radar axes.

Homicide / general violence

Intentional homicides (per 100,000)

0–1/100k

Sources disagree

Figure is for Benito Juárez (municipality), wider than Cancún itself.

Primary source: SESNSP — Incidencia delictiva municipal

Where this sits on the scaleGuarded

01·3·8·20·40 /100k

Among tracked citiessafer than 66% of tracked cities

1/100k

0/100k safest101.2/100k

Robbery (police-recorded)

Robbery (per 100,000)

0–32/100k

Sources disagree

Police-recorded robbery undercounts true incidence — Mexico has a high share of unreported crime (cifra negra), more so for robbery than homicide. Read this as recorded robbery, not total robbery.

Figure is for Benito Juárez (municipality), wider than Cancún itself.

Primary source: SESNSP — Incidencia delictiva municipal

Where this sits on the scaleLow

040·120·250·400·600 /100k

Among tracked citiessafer than 94% of tracked cities

2/100k

0.4/100k safest3097.8/100k

Travel advisories

U.S. State Department

U.S. State DeptLevel 2 · Increased caution

Primary source: U.S. Department of State — Mexico Travel Advisory

Global Affairs Canada

Global Affairs CanadaLevel 2 · Increased caution

Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — Mexico Travel Advice and Advisories

UK FCDO

UK FCDOLevel 2 · Increased caution

Primary source: UK FCDO — Mexico travel advice

Smartraveller (Australia)

Smartraveller (AU)Level 2 · Increased caution

Primary source: Australian Government (DFAT Smartraveller) — Mexico travel advice

Perceived safety

How safe people say they feel, from official population surveys — a separate signal, not part of the Safety Index.

Feel safe walking alone at night

National survey

41.3%feel safe

41.3% of people surveyed · Mexico · 2024

Survey figure is for Mexico (country), wider than Cancún itself.

Primary source: UN SDG 16.1.4 — feel safe walking alone at night (UNODC)

Tourist-specific incidents

How often government travel advisories mention each — a source-consensus signal, not a risk rate.

Pickpocketing & petty theft in travel advisories

3 of 3 advisories mention this

project-atlas count: 3 of 3 reviewed government advisories mention this. A source-consensus signal, not a measured risk rate.

Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — Mexico travel advice (Safety and security)

Scams & fraud in travel advisories

3 of 3 advisories mention this

project-atlas count: 3 of 3 reviewed government advisories mention this. A source-consensus signal, not a measured risk rate.

Primary source: Global Affairs Canada — Mexico travel advice (Safety and security)