If you want to know how crime in your city compares with the rest of the country, the most reliable starting point is the police recorded crime data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). For the year ending June 2026, England and Wales as a whole recorded about 85 crimes (excluding fraud) for every 1,000 people. Most big cities sit above that, but the gap varies a lot, and the picture for burglary, the crime that matters most for your front door, is quite different from the headline totals.
Below we set out the latest figures for 23 major cities in England and Wales, explain why “most dangerous city” lists often mislead, and show what the numbers actually mean for securing your home.
Where the figures come from
All figures in this guide come from the ONS Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area data tables, year ending June 2026, released on 22 October 2026 (Table C4). That table gives crime rates for each Community Safety Partnership, which in most cases is the same as the local council area.
A few things are worth knowing before you read the table:
- It is police recorded crime. It only counts crimes reported to and recorded by the police, and the ONS publishes it as official statistics rather than accredited official statistics.
- Fraud is excluded from the total, because fraud is recorded nationally rather than by local police.
- “City” means the council area. Manchester, for example, is Manchester City Council’s area only. Salford, Trafford and Stockport are counted separately even though they are part of the same urban area.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland are not included. They publish their own crime statistics, which are counted differently, so they cannot be compared directly with this table.
UK crime rate by city: the latest figures
The table lists total recorded crime (excluding fraud) per 1,000 residents, and residential burglary per 1,000 households, for the year ending June 2026. Cities are sorted from the highest overall rate to the lowest.
| City (council area) | All crime excl. fraud, per 1,000 people | Residential burglary, per 1,000 households |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester | 143.0 | 8.8 |
| Nottingham | 128.2 | 7.9 |
| Bristol | 127.6 | 8.8 |
| Liverpool | 123.0 | 5.2 |
| Southampton | 121.0 | 9.2 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 119.6 | 12.7 |
| Bradford | 116.0 | 13.0 |
| Birmingham | 115.7 | 11.4 |
| Leeds | 113.1 | 12.6 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 108.8 | 9.2 |
| Norwich | 108.3 | 4.1 |
| Leicester | 106.8 | 8.0 |
| Salford | 105.6 | 8.1 |
| Brighton and Hove | 99.5 | 3.8 |
| Sheffield | 97.3 | 9.4 |
| Oxford | 96.2 | 5.6 |
| Plymouth | 94.7 | 3.9 |
| Cardiff | 94.7 | 4.3 |
| Cambridge | 93.7 | 8.0 |
| Exeter | 93.0 | 3.5 |
| Coventry | 88.7 | 8.0 |
| Swansea | 73.6 | 2.5 |
| York | 65.5 | 3.6 |
| England and Wales | 84.6 | 5.9 |
Source: ONS, Police Force Area data tables, year ending June 2026, Tables C4 and P3. Figures rounded to one decimal place.
What stands out
- Manchester has the highest overall rate of the cities in the table, at 143 crimes per 1,000 residents, roughly 1.7 times the England and Wales figure.
- York and Swansea are the only cities in the table below the national average for overall crime, and both also have low burglary rates.
- Burglary tells a different story. Bradford (13.0), Hull (12.7), Leeds (12.6) and Birmingham (11.4) have residential burglary rates around double the national figure of 5.9 per 1,000 households. Liverpool, by contrast, is fourth for overall crime but below the national average for residential burglary.
- Some cities with high overall rates have low burglary rates. Norwich and Brighton and Hove both record more crime per head than the national average, but far fewer burglaries per household.
Why “most dangerous city” rankings often mislead
Lists of the “most dangerous cities in the UK” are popular, but they are easy to get wrong. Here is why a single number rarely tells you how safe your home is.
City centres have small resident populations
Crime rates are worked out per resident, but city centres fill up every day with commuters, shoppers and people on nights out who don’t live there. The ONS itself warns that very high city-centre rates are partly caused by using a small resident population as the denominator. Westminster in London is the clearest example: it recorded about 342 crimes per 1,000 residents, around four times the national average, largely because of the huge number of visitors and the shoplifting, theft and violence linked to a busy centre. That figure says very little about the risk to a typical house in a residential street.
Most crime is not burglary
The headline total includes violence, shoplifting, criminal damage, public order offences and much more. If you are thinking about the security of your home, the residential burglary rate is far more relevant than the total.
Council boundaries are arbitrary
Cities whose council area covers only the dense core (such as Manchester or Nottingham) tend to look worse than cities whose boundary takes in quieter suburbs. Two places with similar streets can produce very different rates simply because of where the boundary is drawn.
Recording varies between forces
Police recorded crime depends on what people report and how each force records it. Changes in recording practice or police activity can move the numbers without any change in how much crime actually happens, which is one reason the ONS also uses the Crime Survey for England and Wales to measure national trends.
How to check crime where you actually live
A city-wide average hides big differences between neighbourhoods. To get a more useful picture:
- Use police.uk. Enter your postcode on police.uk to see recent crime on a map of your neighbourhood, broken down by type, and to find your local policing team.
- Look at burglary on its own. Filter the map to burglary rather than looking at all crime, which in many areas is dominated by incidents around shops, pubs and transport hubs.
- Compare several months. One month can be unusual. Look at a trend over the past year.
- Remember the limits. Locations on police maps are approximate to protect privacy, so a crime shown on your street may have happened nearby rather than at a specific house.
What the figures mean for your home security
Whichever city you live in, the practical lesson from the data is the same: burglary happens in every area, including the ones near the bottom of the table. Even in York, with the lowest rate here, around 3.6 homes in every 1,000 had a recorded burglary in a year. Good security is worth having wherever you live, and it matters even more in cities where burglary rates are well above average.
The basics cost little and make a real difference:
- Lock up properly every time. On a uPVC door, lift the handle and turn the key so the multipoint lock engages, even when you are at home.
- Check your cylinder. Older euro cylinders can be vulnerable to lock snapping. Our guide to anti-snap locks explains what to look for.
- Know your door’s weak points. Handles, cylinders, letterboxes and hinges are all common targets. See the top weak points of uPVC doors and how to reinforce them.
- Don’t forget the back door. Rear doors are out of sight of the street, which gives a burglar more time.
- Make the house look occupied. Timer lights and a neighbour who clears the doorstep help when you are away.
For a whole-house checklist, read how to secure your home.
Add a second line of defence on uPVC doors
Locks can fail if they are attacked, so many people add a physical device that keeps the door shut from the inside when they are at home. The Door Jammer – HOLDOOR hooks under the inside handle of a uPVC door and braces it against the floor, so the door stays shut even if the lock is snapped, bumped or picked. It is Sold Secure Bronze rated and Secured by Design accredited (Police Preferred Specification), needs no drilling or tools, and fits in about a minute.
In a fire: find the key, lift the Door Jammer off (or unlock and remove the Door Handle Guard), unlock the door and leave the building.
FAQs
Which city in England and Wales has the highest crime rate?
Westminster has by far the highest recorded rate per resident, but that is mainly because of its very large visitor population. Of the main cities in our table, Manchester had the highest rate in the year ending June 2026, at 143 crimes (excluding fraud) per 1,000 residents.
Which city has the highest burglary rate?
Of the cities in our table, Bradford had the highest residential burglary rate, at 13.0 per 1,000 households, followed closely by Hull and Leeds. The England and Wales figure was 5.9.
What is the safest city in England and Wales?
Of the 23 cities we looked at, York had the lowest overall rate (65.5 per 1,000 residents) and Swansea had the lowest residential burglary rate (2.5 per 1,000 households). “Safest” depends on what you measure, and conditions vary a lot within any city.
How often are these figures updated?
The ONS publishes updated police recorded crime figures every quarter, each covering the latest 12 months. Police.uk maps are updated monthly.
Are the figures the same as the Crime Survey?
No. The Crime Survey for England and Wales asks households about their experiences, including crimes not reported to the police, and is the better guide to national trends. Police recorded crime is the source for local breakdowns like the ones in this guide.
Next steps
Check your own postcode on police.uk, then look at your doors honestly: is the cylinder up to date, and is there anything stopping the door being opened if the lock is defeated? If you have a single uPVC door with a lever handle, the Door Jammer – HOLDOOR adds that extra layer whenever you are at home. It adjusts from 70cm to 120cm, fits most UK single-handle uPVC doors with the handle on the left or right, and is made in Britain from British steel. It costs £90 (offer ends 31 December 2026) with free UK delivery, 30-day returns and a 2-year warranty. Have a question first? See our FAQs.
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