Photo: Jd.101 · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Kelowna than in 87% of Canadian towns
From 2023 to 2025, crime the police covering Kelowna reported put it at D for safety: #216 of 251 in British Columbia. The local count comes to 21.4 violent incidents and 56.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. Violence accounts for an index of 119.7 and other offences for 128.9, against usual levels of 75.2 and 54.2. In 2023 the index stood at 139.2; it fell to 116 in 2025.
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.
What stands out about safety in Kelowna
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Kelowna records 2.7 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Kelowna places 35th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Higher than most of British Columbia
Kelowna’s index of 125.5 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
Less crime solved
Weighted by seriousness, 24% of crime in Kelowna ends in a charge or is otherwise solved: 34% of violent crime and 21% of the rest. Across Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more the figure is 38%. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Kelowna: 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: #216 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,296 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Which crimes make up Kelowna’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Kelowna runs highest on drug offences (2.7 per 1,000 against 0.9), mischief (11.1 per 1,000 against 3.8) and theft under $5,000 (28.5 per 1,000 against 11.5).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2.7 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 57.3 | 0.3 | 26% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 47 | 0.3 | 94% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 11.7 | 0.07 | 54% |
| Robbery | 98.3 | 0.6 | 28% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 14.3 | 0.09 | 56% |
| Other violent violations | 27 | 0.2 | 33% |
| Breaking and entering | 882 | 5.3 | 14% |
| Possession of stolen property | 169.7 | 1 | 33% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 390 | 2.4 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 139 | 0.8 | 4% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 4,715 | 28.5 | 16% |
| Mischief | 1,834.7 | 11.1 | 19% |
| Weapons violations | 211 | 1.3 | 47% |
| Administration of justice violations | 1,587.7 | 9.6 | 90% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 245.3 | 1.5 | 40% |
| Drug violations | 458.3 | 2.7 | 61% |
| Impaired driving | 283.3 | 1.7 | 84% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 128.3 | 0.8 | 17% |
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 50,000 people or more.
Kelowna is 35th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington Ontario | 197,737 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 40.5 | 49.7 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 59.7 | 69.8 | B− |
| 19 | Coquitlam British Columbia | 173,599 | 59.8 | 61.6 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 30 | Langley British Columbia | 163,885 | 82.4 | 77.3 | C |
| … | |||||
| 32 | Abbotsford British Columbia | 175,358 | 96 | 107.5 | C− |
| 33 | Thunder Bay Ontario | 117,671 | 113.6 | 209.7 | C− |
| 34 | Nanaimo British Columbia | 111,845 | 121.6 | 127.7 | D |
| 35 | Kelowna British Columbia | 167,654 | 125.5 | 119.7 | D |
| 36 | Red Deer Alberta | 115,409 | 126.8 | 134.3 | D |
| 37 | Lethbridge Alberta | 113,671 | 128.5 | 142 | D |
| 38 | Chilliwack British Columbia | 105,520 | 142.2 | 158.4 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Victoria British Columbia | 103,888 | 161.3 | 160.1 | 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 Kelowna in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Kelowna, year by year
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (139.2); 2025 was the lightest, at 116. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 64.3 and 2025 gave 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Kelowna | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 116 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 121.5 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 139.2 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Kelowna, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
About 3,540 violent incidents a year reached Kelowna’s police, 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.
Add about 9,420 property crimes and 5,660 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Kelowna
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelowna | 167,654 | 125.5 | 119.7 | D |
| Tsinstikeptum 10 | 2,081 | — | — | — |
| Central Okanagan | 4,784 | 106.7 | 102.5 | C− |
| West Kelowna | 40,274 | 78.4 | 79.1 | C+ |
| Tsinstikeptum 9 | 10,514 | — | — | — |
| Duck Lake 7 | 2,091 | — | — | — |
Kelowna has the highest index of the places around it. Just 9 km away, Central Okanagan comes to 106.7, against 125.5.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What 100 means. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- The clearance rate. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
- Severity, weighed. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
Questions about safety in Kelowna
Is Kelowna safe?
Statistics Canada puts Kelowna at 125.5 on its Crime Severity Index over 2023–2025; Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more sit at 60.3 in the middle. Violent incidents run at 21.4 and property crimes at 56.9 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Kelowna?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (28.5 per 1,000 residents a year); other Criminal Code offences, at 27.8, and mischief, at 11.1, follow.
Is crime going up in Kelowna?
The reverse: 139.2 in 2023 came down to 116 by 2025, 17% lower.
How much of Kelowna’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 24%: 34% for violent crime and 21% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Kelowna’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
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).