Maple News reports that a new safety index from Numbeo places Canada at the forefront of North America’s safest cities. The five safest cities in the region are all Canadian, concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, underscoring the country’s strong safety profile in urban areas.
Canada also dominates the broader top 10 list, with six Canadian cities among North America’s ten safest. Ontario and Quebec cities appear most frequently, while Calgary stands out as the only Alberta city in the top tier.
Here are the top 10 safest cities in North America according to Numbeo’s current safety index: 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 cities in the list are classified as having a High safety index (60.01–80) and a correspondingly low crime index, with one notable exception: Vancouver records a Safety Index of 57.2, placing it in the Moderate range (40.01–60).
Zooming out beyond the top 10, Canadian cities account for 33 of the 79 North American cities evaluated in Numbeo’s index, reflecting broad safety across the country.
Within Canada’s own rankings, the top 10 safest cities span five provinces. Notably, two provinces outside the Western/Atlantic border—British Columbia and Nova Scotia—are represented among the national top 10. The leading Canadian city is Quebec City with a Safety Index of 77.7 and a Crime Index of 22.3. The full Canadian top 10 is: 2) Burlington, ON (71.4; 28.6); 3) Ottawa, ON (69.3; 30.7); 4) Montreal, QC (67.1; 32.9); 5) Guelph, ON (66.2; 33.8); 6) Calgary, AB (62.1; 37.9); 7) Halifax, NS (60.4; 39.6); 8) Victoria, BC (60.4; 39.6); 9) Kingston, ON (60.4; 39.6); 10) Vancouver, BC (57.2; 42.8).
Numbeo’s Current Safety Index by City is crowdsourced, reflecting residents’ perceptions of crime and safety and is updated in real time as new data arrives.