Photo: chester902 · Public domainRecorded crime per resident is higher in Kentville than in 69% of Canadian towns
Police clear 41% of crime, weighted by seriousness; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 34%. The Safety Grade comes out at C, drawn from crime the police covering Kentville reported through 2023 to 2025: #65 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Annual rates stand at 22.4 violent incidents and 32.6 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Each of the 5 towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident.
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 Kentville
More severe than in 2023
Kentville’s index went from 72.3 in 2023 to 94 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Mischief: high for a town its size
Kentville records 9.2 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 ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Kentville stands 28th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Much like Nova Scotia’s towns
Within Nova Scotia, the median town comes to 71.4 on the index, against 82.9 in Kentville. 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.
What’s behind Kentville’s grade
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: #65 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #1,745 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.
In Kentville, up 30% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
It closed on its heaviest year, 2025, at 94; the lightest was 2023, at 72.3. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Kentville | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 94 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 82.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 72.3 | 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 Kentville, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Which crimes make up Kentville’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Kentville runs highest on mischief (9.2 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (1.3 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (10.1 per 1,000 against 6.7). Break and enter and motor vehicle theft sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 7 | 0.9 | 90% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 0.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0.7 | 0.09 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2.3 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 16.7 | 2.2 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 7 | 0.9 | 19% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 95.7 | 12.9 | 43% |
| Mischief | 67.7 | 9.2 | 27% |
| Weapons violations | 5.7 | 0.8 | 47% |
| Administration of justice violations | 84.3 | 11.4 | 79% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 7 | 0.9 | 61% |
| Drug violations | 10 | 1.3 | 50% |
| Impaired driving | 42.7 | 5.7 | 66% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 1.3 | 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.
Kentville is 28th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Lakes Ontario | 7,357 | 20.6 | 24.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Val-des-Sources Quebec | 7,303 | 72.6 | 127.5 | C+ |
| 26 | Kenora, Unorganized Ontario | 7,877 | 73.9 | 96.2 | C+ |
| 27 | Hampstead Quebec | 7,464 | 80.3 | 115.7 | C |
| 28 | Kentville Nova Scotia | 7,589 | 82.9 | 90.6 | C |
| 29 | Electoral Area A, Nanaimo British Columbia | 7,825 | 87 | 109.6 | C |
| 30 | Parry Sound Ontario | 7,584 | 92.2 | 121.3 | C |
| 31 | Campbellton New Brunswick | 7,485 | 113.1 | 160.7 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Digby Nova Scotia | 7,528 | 130.3 | 157.9 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Bonnyville Alberta | 7,366 | 285.4 | 211.4 | 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 Kentville in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 170 violent incidents a year on Kentville’s police records (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 240 property crimes and 240 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 Kentville
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentville | 7,589 | 82.9 | 90.6 | C |
| Kings County, Subdivision C | 8,994 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| Kings County, Subdivision B | 12,661 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| Wolfville | 5,587 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| Kings County, Subdivision D | 6,517 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
| Berwick | 2,631 | 72.3 | 91.5 | C+ |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Kentville. Closest is Kings County, Subdivision C, 2.8 km away, at 72.3 to 82.9 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- What clearance means. 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.
- An index, not a verdict. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Kentville
Is Kentville safe?
With 22.4 violent incidents and 32.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, Kentville comes to 82.9 on the Crime Severity Index (2023–2025); Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have a median of 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Kentville?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 22.2 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (12.9) and assault (10.1).
Is crime going up in Kentville?
Over 2023–2025 the index climbed 30%, to 94 from 72.3.
How much of Kentville’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 41%: 54% for violent crime and 35% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Kentville and nowhere else.
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).