Photo: Canmenwalker · CC BY 4.0Per resident, Burlington records less crime than 94% of Canadian towns
Typical years here bring 3.6 violent incidents plus 18.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 10.8 plus 25.1 in the typical town its size. What’s more, by 2025 the index had dropped to 30.6, down from 32.3 in 2023. A Safety Grade of A follows from crime the police covering Burlington reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #100 of 862 in Ontario. Its violent half comes to 28.3 and its non-violent half to 32.8, where the norm is 75.2 and 54.2.
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 Halton Region (Oakville/Burlington) service area: crime severity, crime rate and incident counts.
What stands out about safety in Burlington
Under the Ontario norm
Burlington’s index of 31.4 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Burlington places 2nd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Burlington’s index splits into violent crime, 28.3 here and 75.2 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 32.8 against 54.2. By type ↓
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 Burlington’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: #100 of 862 in Ontario and #134 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.
What police record in Burlington, by type
Against the typical town its size, Burlington runs highest on motor vehicle theft (2.2 per 1,000 against 1.7). Mischief and assault sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2 | 0.00 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 37.3 | 0.06 | 88% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 82.3 | 0.1 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 7.7 | 0.01 | 74% |
| Robbery | 130.7 | 0.2 | 68% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 22.7 | 0.04 | 98% |
| Other violent violations | 62.3 | 0.10 | 69% |
| Breaking and entering | 965 | 1.5 | 23% |
| Possession of stolen property | 141 | 0.2 | 97% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1,409 | 2.2 | 12% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 313.3 | 0.5 | 36% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 5,951 | 9.1 | 22% |
| Mischief | 948.3 | 1.4 | 26% |
| Weapons violations | 93.7 | 0.1 | 86% |
| Administration of justice violations | 987.7 | 1.5 | 100% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 115.7 | 0.2 | 79% |
| Drug violations | 155.3 | 0.2 | 92% |
| Impaired driving | 439.3 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 92.7 | 0.1 | 21% |
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.
Burlington comes 2nd of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakville Ontario | 243,107 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| 2 | Burlington Ontario | 197,737 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| 3 | Milton Ontario | 157,345 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| 4 | Lévis Quebec | 160,882 | 34.5 | 57.5 | A |
| 5 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 40.5 | 49.7 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Oshawa Ontario | 213,592 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 9 | Whitby Ontario | 162,413 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 10 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 11 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Kamloops British Columbia | 108,793 | 148.2 | 134.8 | 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 Burlington in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
The police area Burlington is part of, 666,500 residents, recorded about 2,380 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.
Property crime adds about 12,000 a year and other violations 2,150 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Burlington, year by year
Crime Severity Index
The first year, 2023, was the heaviest at 32.3, and 2025 the lightest at 30.6. The typical Canadian town its size went from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Burlington | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30.6 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 31.2 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 32.3 | 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 Burlington, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Burlington
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 197,737 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| Waterdown | 23,858 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| North End East | 4,816 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Industrial Sector A and Keith | 3,723 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Beasley | 6,338 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Central | 3,698 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
| Parkview West | 3,686 | 65.7 | 85.7 | B− |
Burlington has the lowest index of the places around it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A regional police service. A regional or shared police service reports one set of figures for every municipality it covers, Burlington included.
- Reading the number. A reading of 100 is the whole country in 2006. Half of that, 50, means half the severity per resident.
- Solved cases. The clearance rate is the share of incidents police solve, by a charge or otherwise, weighted by seriousness like the index. It isn’t a conviction rate.
- How serious, not how safe. 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 Burlington
Is Burlington safe?
Statistics Canada puts Burlington at 31.4 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 3.6 and property crimes at 18.3 per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Burlington?
Top of the list is theft under $5,000 (9.1 per 1,000 residents a year); fraud, at 3.4, and motor vehicle theft, at 2.2, follow.
Is crime going up in Burlington?
The reverse: 32.3 in 2023 came down to 30.6 by 2025, 5% lower.
How much of Burlington’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 39% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 68% of violent crime and 29% of the rest, against 38% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Burlington and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).