Crime & Safety in Mesa
Mesa's crime data reads favorably overall, though with a real nuance worth understanding: NeighborhoodScout's own comparison changes meaningfully depending on which peer group it uses, while CrimeGrade reads more straightforwardly positive.
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Learn moreNeighborhoodScout: higher than the national average overall, but one of the lowest for cities Mesa's size
NeighborhoodScout describes Mesa's overall crime rate (20 crimes per 1,000 residents) as "considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America" -- but also states that, compared specifically to cities and towns of a similar population size, Mesa's crime rate is "one of the lowest in the nation for its size," calling Mesa "one of the safest places in America in which to live for its size." Both statements come from the same source and reflect different comparison groups rather than a contradiction, but they read very differently in isolation -- worth understanding the comparison basis before drawing a conclusion, the same nuance this dataset discloses for Cary, NC.
CrimeGrade: a more straightforwardly favorable B
CrimeGrade.org gives Mesa an overall crime safety grade of B as of 2026, with an overall crime rate estimated 31% below the national average and a violent crime rate of 3.694 per 1,000 residents in a typical year -- a more consistently positive read than the NeighborhoodScout framing above, though both sources point toward Mesa being a comparatively safer large city rather than a high-crime one.
Real neighborhood-level variation, and named safer areas
Per CrimeGrade and related sourcing, the safest Mesa neighborhoods cited include Las Sendas, Augusta Ranch, Cadence at Gateway, Estate Groves & Valencia Estates, and Eastmark -- all running significantly below the citywide crime rate. Per site policy, no specific lower-rated area within Mesa is named here; prospective buyers and renters should check a specific address directly with more than one crime-data source.
Key takeaways
- NeighborhoodScout describes Mesa's overall crime rate (20/1,000 residents) as "considerably higher than the national average across all communities," but "one of the lowest in the nation for its size" among similarly populated cities specifically -- both from the same source, reflecting different comparison groups.
- CrimeGrade.org gives Mesa an overall B safety grade, with crime estimated 31% below the national average and violent crime at 3.694 per 1,000 residents -- a more consistently favorable read.
- Named safer Mesa neighborhoods include Las Sendas, Augusta Ranch, Cadence at Gateway, Estate Groves & Valencia Estates, and Eastmark. No specific lower-rated area is named here per site policy -- check a specific address directly.
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