Residents of La Paz feel significantly safer than people in most Mexican cities, according to the latest national survey on public security. The March 2026 results of INEGI’s National Urban Public Security Survey (ENSU) show La Paz scoring 15 percentage points below the national average on perceived insecurity, a gap that Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero called evidence of the city’s consistent approach to public safety.
Survey Numbers Paint Positive Picture
The ENSU, conducted quarterly by Mexico’s national statistics institute INEGI, measures the share of urban residents who feel unsafe in their city. La Paz also posted strong numbers on a second metric: only 28.1% of residents reported experiencing conflicts or confrontations, compared to 38.2% nationally. That 10-point gap offers another data point for gauging daily life in the Baja California Sur capital.
Quiroga tied the results to both local policy and the federal government’s National Public Security Strategy 2024-2030. That strategy rests on four pillars: addressing root causes of crime, consolidating the National Guard, strengthening intelligence and investigation, and full coordination between federal and state authorities.
Local Efforts Behind the Numbers
The mayor said La Paz’s approach aligns with those federal priorities through crime prevention programs, recovery of public spaces, police training, and coordination with national security agencies. She pledged to continue working in step with President Claudia Sheinbaum’s security agenda.
La Paz, a city of roughly 300,000 people on the Sea of Cortez, has long held a reputation as one of Mexico’s calmer state capitals. Baja California Sur as a whole carries one of the country’s lower homicide rates. The city’s malecón, downtown, and waterfront neighborhoods are popular with both Mexican families and a growing English-speaking expat community.
Context for the Data
Perception surveys measure how safe people feel, not crime rates directly. Still, the ENSU is considered a reliable barometer because INEGI collects responses from residents across all major Mexican cities using a standardized methodology. A 15-point gap below the national average is a meaningful margin in a country where many cities report that a majority of residents feel unsafe.
The municipal government said it will keep prioritizing coordination with federal security institutions to maintain La Paz’s favorable standing. This story was first reported by Noticias La Paz and El Financiero.