Photo: William Matheson · CC BY-SA 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Houston than in 91% of Canadian towns
Police counts work out at 46.1 violent incidents and 51.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2. Add to that, the Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crime the police covering Houston reported through 2023 to 2025: #231 of 251 in British Columbia. Split in two, the index gives 219.6 for violence and 140.4 for everything else (normally 85.7 and 62.8). Its weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solved, is 40% (the typical Canadian town its size: 34%).
Statistics Canada, police-reported crime, 2023–2025 means. The index weighs each crime by its seriousness; rates are incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Measured across the Houston detachment area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Houston
Mischief: high for a town its size
Houston records 20.4 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Above British Columbia’s typical town
The typical British Columbia town scores 83.2; Houston, 162. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Houston comes 36th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Houston: D for safety, and why
The grade weighs the Crime Severity Index and its violent half, averaged over 2023–2025, against every Canadian town and city neighbourhood of 1,000 people or more.
Its place: #231 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,472 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Houston’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Houston runs highest on mischief (20.4 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (2.6 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (22 per 1,000 against 6.7). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 6.7 | 1.7 | 55% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 2 | 0.5 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.5 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.3 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.5 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 17 | 4.4 | 19% |
| Possession of stolen property | 1.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 8 | 2.1 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3 | 0.8 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 64.7 | 16.7 | 28% |
| Mischief | 79.3 | 20.4 | 23% |
| Weapons violations | 9 | 2.3 | 74% |
| Administration of justice violations | 98 | 25.3 | 83% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 9 | 2.3 | 56% |
| Drug violations | 10 | 2.6 | 47% |
| Impaired driving | 12 | 3.1 | 61% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.2 | — |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment, incidents a year its own. Cleared: incidents solved by a charge or otherwise, as a share of those reported.
Incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 means, against the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Houston is 36th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 9 | Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot British Columbia | 3,069 | 48.6 | 69.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 15 | Electoral Area D, Cariboo British Columbia | 3,057 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Electoral Area D, North Okanagan British Columbia | 3,184 | 53.2 | 66.4 | B+ |
| 18 | Electoral Area C (Part 1), Kitimat-Stikine British Columbia | 3,189 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Princeton British Columbia | 3,050 | 114.4 | 174.3 | C− |
| 34 | Tisdale Saskatchewan | 3,052 | 123.4 | 132.5 | D |
| 35 | Minburn County No. 27 Alberta | 3,142 | 126.5 | 60.8 | D |
| 36 | Houston British Columbia | 3,114 | 162 | 219.6 | D |
| 37 | Thorhild County Alberta | 3,147 | 167.5 | 126.8 | D |
| 38 | Roblin Manitoba | 3,184 | 252.3 | 341.3 | D |
| 39 | Enniskillen Ontario | 3,174 | 333.9 | 378.3 | D− |
| 40 | La Loche Saskatchewan | 3,124 | 1,107 | 1,524.7 | D− |
The 40 Canadian towns of 2,500+ people closest in population; city neighbourhoods, city totals and reserves are left out. Towns on one police service or detachment share its index.
The Canadian towns closest to Houston in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 180 violent incidents a year in the 3,790-resident police area around Houston, 2023–2025
Violent incidents per 1,000 a year, 2023–2025
Property crimes per 1,000 a year, 2023–2025
Statistics Canada counts actual incidents; those police record as unfounded are listed apart and kept out of its crime rates and severity index. Each incident is filed under its most serious violation, which the survey sets partly by the maximum penalty.
And about 200 property crimes, plus 240 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
The index in Houston, each year
Crime Severity Index
Its heaviest year came first: 2023, at 179.2, against a low of 152.7 in 2025. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Houston | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 152.7 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 154.2 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 179.2 | 74.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Houston, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Houston
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 3,114 | 162 | 219.6 | D |
| Telkwa (42 km) | 1,544 | 65 | 107 | B− |
| Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako (51 km) | 5,829 | 65 | 107 | B− |
| Smithers (55 km) | 5,627 | 202.3 | 180.8 | D |
| Electoral Area B, Bulkley-Nechako (60 km) | 1,769 | 141.7 | 195.5 | D |
| Burns Lake (61 km) | 2,007 | 141.7 | 195.5 | D |
Nearby, 4 of 5 places with their own figures have a lower index than Houston. Telkwa, 41.5 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 65 to 162.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 42–61 km from Houston.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Small numbers. With roughly 3,787 residents in its police area, a few cases swing the figures. In Statistics Canada’s words, “Data for police services or detachments with populations less than 5,000 should be used with caution.”
- Town and surroundings together. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Houston together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- Reading the number. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- Solved cases. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- How serious, not how safe. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Houston
Is Houston safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Houston comes to 162. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 46.1 violent incidents and 51.8 property crimes. The typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Houston?
The three biggest groups are other Criminal Code offences at 55, assault at 22 and mischief at 20.4, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Houston?
The reverse: 179.2 in 2023 came down to 152.7 by 2025, 15% lower. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Houston’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 40% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 58% of violent crime and 29% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Houston together with its neighbours or the countryside around it.
Source: Statistics Canada, police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025 (Statistics Canada Open Licence); TownRatings calculation.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services (tables 35-10-0186 to 0190, 0061, 0063, 0064), 2023–2025 · Statistics Canada, Incident-based crime statistics by detailed violations, police services (35-10-0178 to 0185) · Safety Grade: TownRatings calculation. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).