Go with a plan.
Numbeo's Safety Index puts San Salvador at 47/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than El Salvador's national picture overall (62/100 vs 65/100).
City page · part of El Salvador
The one number a country page can't give you
What people who actually live in San Salvador report
Numbeo aggregates thousands of resident-submitted perception surveys into a per-city Crime Index (higher = worse) and its inverse, a Safety Index — the only real city-granularity crime signal feeding this page, alongside El Salvador's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.
Crime Index
53.5
Safety Index
46.5
Sub-scores
Same real inputs as El Salvador's national page, with crime swapped for San Salvador's own Numbeo number above.
Local know-how
Staying safe in San Salvador, specifically
- • San Salvador has had a history of violence.
- • To stay safe: Don't walk on streets that look abandoned and dark.
- • You are not likely to have a problem in the malls or inside major stores or museums, and most public buildings are full of security guards, alarms, fire extinguishers, etc.
- • In San Salvador’s downtown areas, the malls, the Zona Rosa, most tourist attractions, and the upmarket neighborhoods are generally the safest areas.
- • No matter how adventurous you may feel, it is strongly advisable to stay away from the city's poorer districts of Soyapango, Barrio Mejico and Apopa and their surroundings on the east and north sides of the city.
Legal status (national law)
Legal since 1822+ UN decl. sign.
Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
A / B · 115V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 911 / ambulance: 132 / fire: 913
Cash vs. Card
El Salvador's official currencies are the U.S. dollar, denoted by the symbol "$" (ISO currency code: USD) and Bitcoin. Carry only $1, $5, $10 or $20 bills. Most stores, supermarkets and department stores won't accept $50 or $100 bills. If you need to exchange to lower denominations, you can go to any bank. ($1 coins issued in El Salvador cannot be used in the United States.)
How this compares to El Salvador
Numbeo's Safety Index puts San Salvador at 47/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than El Salvador's national picture overall (62/100 vs 65/100).
See the full El Salvador page and all receipts →