Is Oaxaca City safe? 🇲🇽

Yes. Oaxaca City remains generally safe for visitors who exercise standard precautions in the historic centre and avoid isolated areas at night. The city's composite safety index is moderate at 54/100, reflecting a homicide rate well above the global average but low levels of terrorism and good air quality. Visitor sentiment is mixed, with only 41.3% feeling safe walking alone after dark, though physical assault and sexual violence rates for residents are relatively low. Recent incidents involve localized protests and press-related violence, not typically targeting tourists. (Assessed 13 October 2026.)

Safety is not one number, and this Oaxaca City report does not pretend it is: the score is re-weighted for who is travelling. A woman travelling alone, a family with children and a solo backpacker face different street-level risks, so the headline score shifts and the report leads with the findings that matter for that group. Personalize this report in one click to see the 2026 score and safety briefing for your specific travellers.

Field research flags Cinco Señores as best avoided. See the district-by-district safety map.

• Unofficial tour guides offering overpriced or unnecessary services near major attractions
• Taxi drivers refusing to use meters or agreeing on inflated fares

Oaxaca City ranks #9 of 9 Mexico destinations we've assessed, scoring 56/100. See the Mexico safety overview for the full list.

The score blends 13+ public data sources — government advisories, UNODC/World Bank crime statistics, FBI crime data for U.S. cities, WHO health data, live air quality and disaster alerts — with AI field research over current local reporting. The databases carry the bulk of the weight; the traveller-sentiment score from field research carries the rest. Full methodology.