OBJECTIVE: to analyze the spatial distribution of elder abuse in Ribeirão Preto-SP, according to victims' place of residence and event. METHOD: an ecological study that analyzed 1,153 elder abuse police reports (2009 to 2013). Local gross and empirical Bayesian rates and Local Moran's I were calculated. RESULTS: there was a heterogeneous distribution of concentration of sectors with a high incidence rate surrounded by neighbors with also high rates, considering place of residence. In contrast, analysis by place of occurrence showed a greater concentration in the central areas of the municipality. More than 80% of cases of violence occurred at their own homes and with spatial dependence on distribution by occurrence up to a 5,000 m distance from their places of residence. CONCLUSION: data reinforce that violence is a complex phenomenon, affecting several social strata, including in central urban areas and in elderly people families' own context.