Safest places to live in the UK 2026

What are the safest places to live in the UK?

The five safest local authorities in the UK are Shetland Islands (203 per 10,000), Na h-Eileanan Siar (236), Orkney Islands (245), East Renfrewshire (253) and East Dunbartonshire (280). All five are Scottish, and four of them are island or sparsely-populated Highland authorities.

The pattern extends further down the ranking. Six of the ten safest local authorities in the UK are Scottish, and the non-Scottish entries follow the same shape: rural, coastal or commuter-belt districts sitting adjacent to bigger urban areas that carry most of the region's recorded crime. The Great Britain average is 812 crimes per 10,000, which puts the safest area at roughly a quarter of that rate.

"Safest" here means the lowest police recorded crime rate, measured per 10,000 resident population. It is the best single number available for cross-area comparison but it does not capture unreported crime, and it does not distinguish between violent, property or public-order offences. The individual area profiles break the rate down by crime type, which is often more useful than the headline number.

What city has the lowest crime rate in the UK?

Among the UK's largest cities, Aberdeen has the lowest recorded crime rate at 667 crimes per 10,000 people, followed by Edinburgh (744), Swansea (748), Glasgow (849) and Coventry (894).

The Scottish cities dominate the safe-city list. Many of the safest local authorities overall are rural islands or commuter districts rather than cities, so the "safest city" question and the "safest area" question have very different answers. If you're weighing cities specifically, the four Scottish cities plus Coventry are the five to know.

Which UK city has the worst crime rate?

Manchester records the highest crime rate among the UK's largest cities at 1,430 per 10,000, followed by Bristol (1,308), Nottingham (1,270), Liverpool (1,243) and Southampton (1,202).

Reading these numbers, three caveats matter. First, cities with major night-time economies concentrate a lot of theft, public-order and violence-against-the-person offences into small central areas; a resident of a suburban ward experiences a very different local picture from the city-wide rate. Second, reporting rates and police recording practices vary meaningfully between forces, which affects the raw comparison. Third, per-resident rates count crimes committed against workers, visitors and commuters against a denominator of resident population only, which inflates the rate for any city that is much bigger by day than by night.

The full list runs to over 300 authorities and the highest crime rates are found in city centres and inner-London boroughs. For the flip side of this ranking with the full sorted table and per-area breakdowns, see the highest crime rate areas page.

Which part of the UK is the safest?

Grouped by nation and region, Scotland has the lowest average recorded crime rate at 495 per 10,000, well ahead of the rest of the country. English regions cluster in the middle: the South East, East of England and East Midlands sit close together in the 670 to 700 range, followed by the South West and West Midlands. London tops the list at 1,123 per 10,000, largely reflecting the density of central-London borough activity.

Within each region there is meaningful spread. The safest local authority in an average region can sit at less than half the rate of the busiest urban ward in the same region. For a nation-by-nation view, the safest places to live in Scotland and safest places to live in Wales guides go into much more detail on the recording differences and the county-level view.

What are the safest places to raise a family?

Family choice usually balances three things: how safe an area feels, how well its schools rate, and whether the household budget stretches to living there. Filtering the ranking to areas in the bottom quartile of crime, with schools rated above 85% Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, and single-person monthly costs below the £1,530 England average, surfaces 19 candidates across England.

The names near the top of that combined list are North Kesteven (388 per 10,000, 85.2% Good or Outstanding, £1,220/mo), Rutland (424, 100%, £1,341), Maldon (441, 88.6%, £1,443), Derbyshire Dales (448, 86.2%, £1,240), Tewkesbury (450, 87.2%, £1,404) and East Cambridgeshire (453, 87.3%, £1,388).

Two useful companion rankings if you're sifting a shortlist: the best school ratings by area for the education picture in isolation, and the best value places to live for the affordability angle.

Is Glasgow or London safer?

On the numbers, Glasgow is safer than London. Glasgow records 849 crimes per 10,000 residents. London's aggregate rate, calculated by summing crimes across all 32 boroughs and dividing by their combined population, comes to roughly 959 per 10,000, or about 13% higher.

The comparison has a caveat. London is a single label covering 32 boroughs with hugely varied crime pictures (from Bromley and Havering at the low end through to Westminster and the City at the top). Comparing a specific London borough against Glasgow gives a much sharper answer than the aggregate does.

Where is the cheapest and safest place to live?

Areas that combine bottom-quartile crime with below-average monthly costs surface a cluster of rural East of England, East Midlands and Yorkshire authorities. Roughly 36 English areas meet both criteria.

The names to know are Broadland (345 crimes per 10,000, £1,344/mo), Ribble Valley (385, £1,253), North Kesteven (388, £1,220), South Norfolk (412, £1,352), North Norfolk (418, £1,278) and Rutland (424, £1,341).

These are areas where the crime signal and the cost signal line up in the same direction, which is not something you can take for granted. Several London boroughs sit low on the cost-of-living rankings but high on crime; several affluent commuter towns sit low on crime but high on cost. For the fuller cost view, the cheapest places to live and best value places to live rankings are the natural next steps.

Data and methodology: crime rates come from the Home Office (England and Wales, year ending March 2026) and the Scottish Government (2025-26), expressed as recorded crimes per 10,000 resident population. The ranking covers 303 local authorities where data is published at LA level; Kent's districts are excluded because a large share of the county's crimes are not attributed to specific areas in the Home Office release. The Great Britain average is total recorded crimes divided by total population across the areas with published figures. Scotland records crime differently from England and Wales, so comparisons across the border are a guide only. Northern Ireland is not included. Recorded crime reflects offences reported to and logged by police only; it does not capture unreported crime, and recording practices differ between forces. For a fuller picture of any area, follow through to its individual profile where crime is broken down by category.