What is the safest place to live in Wales?

Based on Home Office recorded-crime data for the year ending March 2026, Ceredigion has the lowest recorded crime rate in Wales at 551 crimes per 10,000 people, just ahead of Powys (553) and the Isle of Anglesey (569).

Is Wales safer than England?

On the rural authorities, yes. Powys, Ceredigion, and the Isle of Anglesey all have crime rates well below the English average. Welsh urban authorities and the post-industrial valleys sit closer to comparable English areas.

What is the average crime rate in Wales?

Across the 20 Welsh local authorities with published crime data, the average recorded crime rate is around 772 per 10,000 people. The range goes from 551 in Ceredigion to 1,150 in Blaenau Gwent.

What is the safest city in Wales?

The safest UK city in this list is Swansea with 748 recorded crimes per 10,000 people.

Where does Welsh crime data come from?

Welsh crime data uses the Home Office police recorded crime tables for the year ending March 2026, the same source and classification as England.

Safest Places to Live in Wales 2026

Wales has some of the lowest recorded crime rates in the UK, particularly in the rural and coastal authorities. Ceredigion, Powys, and the Isle of Anglesey lead the list with rates below 600 per 10,000 people. The South Wales urban authorities and former industrial valleys tend to sit higher. Welsh crime data uses the Home Office classification (the same as England), so cross-border comparisons are precise.

We've ranked 20 Welsh local authorities by recorded crime rate per 10,000 residents. The safest area is Ceredigion at 551 per 10,000.

The ranking: 20 Welsh areas by crime rate

Sorted lowest crime first. Recorded crime rate is the number of crimes per 10,000 people from official police-recorded data.

#	Area	Crime / 10k	Monthly cost	Avg salary
1	Ceredigion	551	£1,209/mo	£29,326
2	Powys	553	£1,105/mo	£30,275
3	Isle of Anglesey	569	£1,187/mo	£29,944
4	Vale of Glamorgan	610	£1,362/mo	£31,410
5	Flintshire	634	£1,238/mo	£32,675
6	Monmouthshire	639	£1,376/mo	£35,020
7	Carmarthenshire	662	£1,143/mo	£30,774
8	Neath Port Talbot	678	£1,154/mo	£30,709
9	Gwynedd	700	£1,209/mo	£25,179
10	Bridgend	704	£1,213/mo	£31,475
11	Pembrokeshire	723	£1,145/mo	£27,243
12	Swansea	748	£1,324/mo	£32,091
13	Conwy	822	£1,239/mo	£28,113
14	Wrexham	832	£1,237/mo	£29,752
15	Caerphilly	857	£1,177/mo	£30,854
16	Cardiff	944	£1,530/mo	£32,756
17	Denbighshire	947	£1,191/mo	£26,812
18	Torfaen	1,026	£1,247/mo	£33,201
19	Newport	1,090	£1,324/mo	£31,495
20	Blaenau Gwent	1,150	£1,157/mo	£30,734

20 areas with published crime data covered. Areas without reliable crime data are excluded.

Top 10 safest Welsh areas, in detail

Ceredigion

551 per 10,000

Mid-Wales coast, home to Aberystwyth University and Cardigan.

See the full crime breakdown on the Ceredigion area profile.

Powys

553 per 10,000

The largest Welsh authority by area, covering most of mid-Wales. Rural, sparsely populated, and the cheapest place to live in Wales.

See the full crime breakdown on the Powys area profile.

Isle of Anglesey

569 per 10,000

Island authority off the north-west Welsh coast. Rural, low-crime, popular with retirees.

See the full crime breakdown on the Isle of Anglesey area profile.

Vale of Glamorgan

610 per 10,000

Cardiff's western commuter belt with the Glamorgan coast.

See the full crime breakdown on the Vale of Glamorgan area profile.

Flintshire

634 per 10,000

North-east Wales bordering Cheshire, with commuter links to Liverpool and Manchester.

See the full crime breakdown on the Flintshire area profile.

Monmouthshire

639 per 10,000

A Welsh authority with a low recorded crime rate. Typically a smaller-population area or a suburban/rural district.

See the full crime breakdown on the Monmouthshire area profile.

Carmarthenshire

662 per 10,000

West Wales rural authority anchored by Carmarthen and Llanelli.

See the full crime breakdown on the Carmarthenshire area profile.

Neath Port Talbot

678 per 10,000

Post-industrial South Wales; the Port Talbot steelworks remains the dominant employer.

See the full crime breakdown on the Neath Port Talbot area profile.

Gwynedd

700 per 10,000

A Welsh authority with a low recorded crime rate. Typically a smaller-population area or a suburban/rural district.

See the full crime breakdown on the Gwynedd area profile.

Bridgend

704 per 10,000

A Welsh authority with a low recorded crime rate. Typically a smaller-population area or a suburban/rural district.

See the full crime breakdown on the Bridgend area profile.

Regional context

Welsh local authorities use the same Home Office crime classification as England, so comparisons across the England-Wales border are precise. Wales has fewer authorities than England (22 vs over 300), which makes the rankings less granular but the data fully comparable.

A note on the data

How the crime figures were built

Crime rates are based on recorded crimes per 10,000 residents from the Home Office (England and Wales, year ending March 2026) or the Scottish Government (Scotland, 2025-26). Recording practices vary between police forces and recorded crime doesn't capture unreported crime. These figures are a directional indicator of police activity and reported incidents rather than a complete picture of crime in an area. Explore our UK crime map for a visual view.