Situated Between West Palm Beach And Boca Raton Is An Unexpectedly Dangerous Florida City

Savvy travelers will tell you to always, always check the safety of wherever you're traveling. Even if you're traveling to a super-safe country or city, you should follow every common sense precaution: Don't flash money, keep wallets and phones in your front pockets, keep purse straps wrapped around your arms, don't face your back to crowds or passersby, and so on. But even taking all these simple precautions into account, some places are more dangerous than others — at least in certain respects. This is the case with Boynton Beach, Florida, located along Florida's Southeastern coast about midway between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton. 

In pictures, the 83,000-person Boynton Beach looks like any other Floridian coastal town, full of palm tree-lined streets and upscale homes. At a glance, it could even be mistaken for a sandy and beautiful beach town like Huntington Beach in Orange County, California. The city's crime rates tell a different story, however. In comparison to 40 other U.S. cities in 2024, Boynton Beach saw way more instances of shoplifting, drug violations, and thefts from homes (via the Council on Criminal Justice and the Boynton Beach Police Department, respectively). While Boynton Beach's 11.8% poverty rate might contribute to these crime rates, some attribute them to illegal gambling operations and drug rings, though such reports are unsubstantiated.

Regardless of causes, visitors can still travel to Boynton Beach, enjoy themselves, and stay safe provided you follow the common sense safety advice mentioned above. You should be alright if take care to watch your possessions and pockets across the town's beaches and shopping districts, like the beachside Oceanfront Park and the cityside Boynton Beach Mall, as well as its nature preserves, like Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. 

Boynton Beach gets its name from Nathan S. Boynton, a Civil War veteran who essentially founded the town when he bought 500 acres in the area in 1894. With tourism already in mind, he started work on Boynton Beach Hotel the next year, in 1895. And while this original structure no longer exists, it and Boynton's venturesome spirit lives on. Boynton Beach continues to attract visitors and residents, particularly retirees to neighborhoods like Leisureville, located roughly between Boynton Beach's inland shopping district and its beachfront shopping district. 

But no matter where you live or travel in Boynton Beach, crime tends to go up the further you move towards the beach, as crime data on Neighborhood Scout indicates. Visitors should take especial care when traveling to crime-heavy neighborhoods. Don't leave your items unattended or out of sight while lounging on the bright sand of Oceanfront Park, and don't lose track of your wallet in the Boynton Harbor Marina, even if you're just ducking into local seafood and grill favorites like Two Georges and Banana Boat. And if you're renting a holiday home on the beach to stay for awhile, like Coastal Cottage, remember to never leave your doors unlocked.

Besides these general tips, you'll have to watch out for dangerous beach fauna like washed-up jellyfish, which you could find anywhere in Florida. Also, you'll have to keep an eye out for the type of dangerous weather systems that threaten areas like Honeymoon Island.

At present and despite Boynton Beach's crime figures, a small poll on Niche, a data site that profiles neighborhoods and schools across the country, reveals that only 5% of residents feel unsafe at any given time. Anecdotes from locals on a Boynton Beach Reddit thread portray a similar sentiment, but state that the area around I-95 — which runs north and south through the town near the beach — seems the most unsafe. Similarly, this is precisely the area that we mentioning Neighorhood Scout describing as the most dangerous.

Thankfully, the good folks at the Boynton Beach Police Department (BBPD) are doing their best to reduce crime in town. As of January, 2025, they announced their plan to add a full 650 surveillance cameras across Boynton Beach. This will allow for better responsiveness to crimes as it will help the BBPD connect police officers to events as they unfold. The surveillance system also contains a feature that alerts officers to gunfire. And on the non-crime-related, but safety-related front, the BBPD is also doing its best to reduce danger from traffic accidents, particularly between cars and cyclists. There are even efforts underway to shore up Boynton Beach's buildings against weather-related issues like flooding. 

All in all, such efforts mean that even though Boynton Beach has its share of dangers, crime-related troubles included, the town is doing its best to make itself safe. Those looking to visit should bear its trouble spots in mind and not be deterred from visiting, so long as you keep sensible precautions in mind.