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San Carlos

Medium-low incidence Population: 57,061
4,697
Rate per 100,000 inhabitants (2025)
More reported crime than 44%
of Chile's communes
CEAD 2025 · #195 of 346 · 1 = most reported incidence
More reported crime than 57%
of communes in Ñuble
CEAD 2025 · #9 of 21 · 1 = most reported incidence

Annual evolution (2005–present)

Declining
19% below national average
6% below regional average

Reported incidence by crime category (2025)

Life crimes 1190
Property crimes 1333
Violent robbery 157
Disorder 1077
Domestic violence 786
Drug crimes 77
Weapons 77

Note: this is CEAD’s "Drug Crimes" family — criminal offences under Ley 20.000 (trafficking, micro-trafficking and cultivation). It is a low-volume, mostly police-detected category. Public drug or alcohol consumption is classified by CEAD under Disorder, not here, so this figure understates total drug-related police activity.

Homicides (2025)

3 per 100,000 inhabitants (2 cases)

Source: CEAD, subgroup 101 Life Crimes (2025)

Crime evolution by category (2005–present)

Life crimes

2005–2026

Property crimes

2005–2026

Violent robbery

2005–2026

Disorder

2005–2026

Domestic violence

2005–2026

Drug crimes

2005–2026

Weapons

2005–2026

Homicide

2005–2026

Faded points indicate partial-year data.

Composite Crime Index (2024)

21 Moderate
#160 of 346 nationally · #5 in Ñuble
Composite of reported crimes (CEAD/SPD), adjusted for SII economic activity. Does not reflect unreported crime. Reference year: 2024.

Household Victimization (ENUSC 2024)

4.7% (2024)
95% confidence interval: 3.1% – 7.1%
INE experimental estimate (SAE-modeled). Proportion of households reporting at least one violent crime. Covers 136 of 346 comunas. Distinct from CEAD reported-crime index — measures victimization survey responses, not police denuncias. Source: INE Estadísticas Experimentales, Seguridad Ciudadana.

Comparable commune (same region)

Coihueco Ñuble
4,832 per 100k inh. #186 of 346 Stable

View on Map

See San Carlos on the interactive Chile crime map →

Similar Communes in This Region

Communes in Ñuble with similar reported CEAD incidence rates:

Commune Rate per 100k
National rank Trend
Coihueco 4,832 #186 Stable
Chillán Viejo 4,980 #170 Declining
San Ignacio 4,106 #223 Stable
Yungay 5,291 #145 Stable
Chillán 5,442 #134 Declining

Glossary

Rankings by Crime Type

According to CEAD records, San Carlos (Ñuble region) has seen a declining trend in reported crime incidence. The commune ranked 195 of 346 nationally in 2025, with an official rate of 4,697.5 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants.

San Carlos is one of the communes that make up the Ñuble region. Within the region, it holds regional rank 9, a position that reflects its incidence level relative to other communes in the same administrative area. Regional comparisons are particularly relevant because they account for shared socioeconomic conditions, urban density patterns, and local reporting infrastructure that may influence measured incidence across the region.

The reported incidence rate of San Carlos in 2025 is close to the per-capita national mean computed across non-low-population communes. The difference is within a narrow margin, suggesting that the commune's reported activity broadly tracks the national level for communes of comparable data quality.

Within Ñuble, San Carlos's 2025 rate is close to the regional per-capita mean. The commune sits near the midpoint of its regional distribution, indicating that its reported incidence aligns broadly with the typical level for the region.

In 2025, the leading category in San Carlos's reported crime profile was property crimes, which accounted for the largest share of total reported incidents. The second most prevalent category was crimes against persons. This composition reflects San Carlos's particular urban and socioeconomic characteristics. The CEAD breakdown covers seven crime families: crimes against persons, property crimes, violent robbery, public-order incidents, domestic violence, drug-related offenses, and weapons offenses. The relative weight of each category in the total rate is visible in the incidence-by-category chart above.

A useful reference point for contextualizing San Carlos's data is Coihueco (Ñuble), identified as the nearest comparable commune within the same region based on reported incidence. In 2025, Coihueco recorded approximately 4,832 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 4,697.5 for San Carlos. The two communes share a similar incidence tier, making the comparison informative for understanding San Carlos's position relative to a concrete peer rather than an abstract national average. Coihueco holds national rank 186 of 346.

Looking at the full CEAD time series, San Carlos recorded 3,757.8 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005. Since then, the reported rate has increased, reaching 4,697.5 in 2025. The multi-year series is displayed in the sparkline chart above, which shows annual values from 2005 through 2025. The most recent year of partial data (if available) is shown at reduced opacity to indicate that the figure is not yet complete. Year-on-year fluctuations are normal and can reflect changes in recording practices, population estimates, or law enforcement priorities rather than changes in underlying behavior.

The data presented here are sourced from CEAD (Centro de Estudios y Análisis del Delito), the official Chilean body that compiles police-reported crime statistics. All figures represent reported incidents — actual incidence may differ due to under-reporting, which varies by crime type and territory. The 2025 rate of 4,697.5 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants for San Carlos reflects the most recent complete annual data available at the time of this publication. For more information on methodology and the rate-per-100,000 definition, see the methodology section.