The saying “perception is reality” may have some truth to it based on how residents feel safe in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A beach destination with a taste of Mexico. Puerto Vallarta is defined by the natural charm of its beaches embraced by the Sierra Madre mountains.
A recent survey by the National Urban Public Safety Survey (ENSU) and the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) says public perceptions of safety have made Puerto Vallarta the fifth-safest city in Mexico. For more information, Visit Puerto Vallarta.
The Top 10 cities with the highest perception of safety in Mexico are as follows:
- San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León
- Benito Juárez, CDMX
- Tampico, Tamaulipas
- Piedras Negras, Coahuila
- Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
- Saltillo, Coahuila
- Los Cabos, BCS
- Los Mochis, Sinaloa
- Tepic, Nayarit
- Mérida, Yucatán

The survey is conducted quarterly, and surveyed more than 27,000 households in 91 urban areas. It asks participants questions based on the following:
• Feeling of insecurity due to fear of crime (perception)
• Social expectations about crime trends (perception)
• Witnessing criminal or antisocial behavior (knowledge)
• Change of routines due to fear of being a victim of crime (experiences)
• Perception of the performance of public security authorities (perception)
• Prevalence of conflicts and antisocial behavior (experiences)
• Government performance (perception)
• Consultation of information on public safety (experiences)
• Trust in the federal, state and municipal government (perception)
• Violence in the family environment (experiences)
Tapachula, Chiapas, ranked as Mexico’s most unsafe city, with 91.9% of its residents feeling endangered. Naucalpan and Fresnillo follow closely, with 88.0% and 87.0% of their populations feeling unsafe, respectively.