Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 24, 2026 – Nearly two-thirds of Puerto Vallarta adults now consider the city unsafe, extending a yearlong collapse in public confidence that stands in sharp contrast with improving sentiment nationally.
Puerto Vallarta’s perceived insecurity reached 65.4 percent in June, up from 27.3 percent one year earlier, according to the latest National Urban Public Security Survey released by INEGI.
The 38.1-point annual increase was statistically significant. Puerto Vallarta was one of only six urban areas recording a significant increase during the past year, while the national average declined from 63.2 to 59.8 percent.
The latest quarterly movement was less conclusive. Perceived insecurity rose from 59.9 percent in March to 65.4 percent in June, but INEGI did not classify that 5.5-point change as statistically significant.
The broader direction remains clear. The city’s reading stood at 32 percent in December before surging to 59.9 percent in March, an increase that INEGI did consider significant. That survey was being conducted at the same time that Puerto Vallarta experienced a day of violence on February 22. Vallarta Daily reported that the first-quarter reversal occurred in April after Puerto Vallarta recorded one of the largest increases among the 91 urban areas included in the survey.
The June result places Puerto Vallarta above the 59.8 percent national average and near several municipalities in the Guadalajara metropolitan area. Perceived insecurity reached 78 percent in Guadalajara, 68.1 percent in Tlajomulco, 64.9 percent in Tlaquepaque and 63.4 percent in Tonalá. Zapopan fell sharply from 70.8 to 54.1 percent between March and June.
A second result points to a wider confidence problem inside Puerto Vallarta. Only 13.3 percent of respondents considered the city government very or somewhat effective at resolving the most important local problems. That was the second-lowest result among all 91 urban areas, ahead of only Cuautitlán Izcalli at 12.4 percent. The national average was 30.8 percent.
That measure covers the government’s handling of broad urban problems and should not be interpreted solely as an evaluation of the municipal police. INEGI’s questionnaire includes matters such as crime, potholes, water leaks, drainage failures, traffic, public lighting and garbage collection.
The survey also measures perception rather than the number of crimes reported or the percentage of respondents who personally experienced a crime. A 65.4 percent insecurity reading means respondents said they considered living in the city unsafe. It does not mean 65.4 percent had been crime victims.
INEGI collected the latest responses between May 22 and June 12 using a probabilistic sample drawn from 27,300 homes nationwide. Adults aged 18 and older participated across 91 urban areas.
The next quarterly ENSU results are scheduled to be released on October 23.
