Photo: TravelingOtter from Houston, Texas, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Per resident, Yellowknife records more crime than 96% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 362 and other offences for 284.2, against usual levels of 89.4 and 56. Recorded violent incidents ran at 71.2 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 213.5, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size. Add to that, a Safety Grade of D− follows from crime the police covering Yellowknife reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #2,535 of 2,572 Canadian towns. The index fell from 320.2 in 2023 to 274.3 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. Source area for crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: the Yellowknife detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Yellowknife
Mischief: high for a town its size
Yellowknife records 166.4 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Yellowknife stands 40th, the lowest first. 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.
The grade: D− for Yellowknife
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: #2,535 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Yellowknife’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Yellowknife runs highest on mischief (166.4 per 1,000 against 3.7), drug offences (7.4 per 1,000 against 0.8) and assault (46 per 1,000 against 6.6).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1.7 | 0.08 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 18.3 | 0.8 | 34% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 29 | 1.3 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 7.7 | 0.3 | 65% |
| Robbery | 38 | 1.7 | 49% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 13 | 0.6 | 56% |
| Other violent violations | 12.3 | 0.6 | 19% |
| Breaking and entering | 143 | 6.4 | 27% |
| Possession of stolen property | 19.7 | 0.9 | 51% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 101.7 | 4.5 | 16% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 9.3 | 0.4 | 8% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 631.7 | 28.1 | 11% |
| Mischief | 3,735.7 | 166.4 | 26% |
| Weapons violations | 30 | 1.3 | 37% |
| Administration of justice violations | 387.7 | 17.2 | 67% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 101 | 4.5 | 27% |
| Drug violations | 166 | 7.4 | 15% |
| Impaired driving | 164.7 | 7.4 | 40% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 5 | 0.2 | 14% |
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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
By its index, Yellowknife stands 40th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springwater Ontario | 24,144 | 22.8 | 21.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Cranbrook British Columbia | 22,703 | 149.5 | 147.3 | D |
| 38 | Fort St. John British Columbia | 24,383 | 200.6 | 214.9 | D |
| 39 | Lloydminster (Part) Alberta | 21,267 | 211.6 | 177.2 | D |
| 40 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 304.6 | 362 | 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 Yellowknife in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Yellowknife, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The first year, 2023, was the heaviest at 320.2, and 2025 the lightest at 274.3. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 69.5 and 2025 gave 60.
Every year as a table
| Year | Yellowknife | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 274.3 | 60 |
| 2024 | 319.2 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 320.2 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Yellowknife, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
The police area Yellowknife is part of, 23,100 residents, recorded about 1,600 violent incidents a year (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 4,790 property crimes, plus 2,470 other violations, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot, one incident a year at the area’s rates.
Crime in the places around Yellowknife
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowknife | 22,858 | 304.6 | 362 | D− |
| Behchokò (95 km) | 2,017 | 1,171.5 | 1,187.7 | D− |
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. The one place listed is 95 km from Yellowknife, the nearest with figures.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. 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.”
- A wider policing area. An RCMP or OPP detachment reports one set of figures for everywhere it polices, so Yellowknife’s are shared with its surroundings.
- What 100 means. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- The clearance rate. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Yellowknife
Is Yellowknife safe?
Its police recorded 71.2 violent incidents and 213.5 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Yellowknife a Crime Severity Index of 304.6. In the middle of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people the figure is 66.
What is the most common crime in Yellowknife?
Mischief is the most common, at 166.4 per 1,000 residents a year, then other Criminal Code offences (93.1) and assault (46).
Is crime going up in Yellowknife?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 14%, to 274.3 from 320.2.
How much of Yellowknife’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 30%: 42% for violent crime and 24% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Those of the police serving Yellowknife 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).