The latest Numbeo safety rankings show that the five safest cities in North America are all located in Canada, with Ontario and Quebec dominating the list.
North America’s top 10 safest cities
| Rank | City | Province/State |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quebec City | Quebec |
| 2 | Burlington | Ontario |
| 3 | Ottawa | Ontario |
| 4 | Montreal | Quebec |
| 5 | Guelph | Ontario |
| 6 | Salt Lake City | Utah |
| 7 | Madison | Wisconsin |
| 8 | Irvine | California |
| 9 | Calgary | Alberta |
| 10 | Boise | Idaho |
All Canadian entries fall into Numbeo’s “High” safety index band (60.01–80/100), which corresponds to a “Low” crime index.
Canada’s top 10 safest cities
| National rank | City | North American rank | Safety index | Crime index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quebec City, Quebec | 17 | 77.7 | 2.3 |
| 2 | Burlington, Ontario | 27 | 71.4 | 28.6 |
| 3 | Ottawa, Ontario | 36 | 69.3 | 30.7 |
| 4 | Montreal, Quebec | 46 | 71.1 | 32.9 |
| 5 | Guelph, Ontario | 56 | 66.2 | 33.8 |
| 6 | Calgary, Alberta | 96 | 62.1 | 37.9 |
| 7 | Halifax, Nova Scotia | 126 | 60.4 | 39.6 |
| 8 | Victoria, British Columbia | 136 | 60.4 | 39.6 |
| 9 | Kingston, Ontario | 146 | 60.4 | 39.6 |
| 10 | Vancouver, British Columbia | 175 | 57.2 | 42.8 |
Vancouver is the only Canadian city that falls into the “Moderate” crime index band (40.01–60), while the others remain in the “Low” category.
Overall Canadian presence
- 33 Canadian cities appear among the 79 North American cities evaluated.
- Ontario contributes four cities to the national top‑10, Quebec and British Columbia each contribute two, and Alberta and Nova Scotia each contribute one.
How Numbeo calculates the safety index
- The index aggregates crowdsourced survey responses collected over the previous five years.
- Only cities with a minimum number of contributions are included to ensure statistical significance.
- Scores (0–100) reflect:
- General perceptions of crime levels.
- Perceived safety during day and night.
- Concerns about specific crimes (e.g., mugging, robbery, car theft, physical attacks, public harassment, bias‑motivated incidents).
- Severity of property crimes (burglary, theft, vandalism).
- Severity of violent crimes (assault, homicide, sexual offences).
The safety index is essentially the inverse of Numbeo’s Crime Index, which is categorized as:
- Very Low: ≤ 20
- Low: 20.01–40
- Moderate: 40.01–60
- High: 60.01–80
- Very High: > 80
These rankings suggest that, for residents and newcomers alike, Canadian cities—particularly those in Ontario and Quebec—continue to offer comparatively low perceived crime levels across North America.
Source article: www.cicnews.com
