Photo: DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Kingston runs higher than in 62% of Canadian towns
Both towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Statistics Canada puts its Crime Severity Index at 73.9 for 2023–2025; the typical Canadian town its size scores 60.3. On top of that, on the record of crime the police covering Kingston reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C+ for safety: #734 of 862 in Ontario. Recorded violent incidents ran at 11.2 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 40.6, against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size.
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 Kingston
Theft under $5,000: high for a town its size
Kingston records 22.3 incidents of theft under $5,000 per 1,000 residents a year, against 11.5 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Kingston stands 26th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Higher than most of Ontario
Within Ontario, the median town comes to 56.2 on the index, against 73.9 in Kingston. Towns its size ↓
The non-violent half stands out
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Kingston’s two halves part ways: 72.6 for violence (typical 75.2) and 75 for the rest (typical 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 Kingston’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: #734 of 862 in Ontario and #1,555 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.
Kingston’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Kingston runs highest on Cannabis Act offences (0.6 per 1,000 against 0.04), theft under $5,000 (22.3 per 1,000 against 11.5) and drug offences (1.5 per 1,000 against 0.9). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 3 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 32 | 0.2 | 80% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 33.7 | 0.2 | 98% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 4.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Robbery | 58.3 | 0.4 | 58% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 10 | 0.07 | 100% |
| Other violent violations | 25.7 | 0.2 | 86% |
| Breaking and entering | 494.7 | 3.4 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 44 | 0.3 | 86% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 163.3 | 1.1 | 16% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 87.7 | 0.6 | 11% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 3,290 | 22.3 | 9% |
| Mischief | 916 | 6.2 | 11% |
| Weapons violations | 58 | 0.4 | 87% |
| Administration of justice violations | 860.3 | 5.8 | 88% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 104.3 | 0.7 | 66% |
| Drug violations | 215.3 | 1.5 | 53% |
| Impaired driving | 90.7 | 0.6 | 96% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 10 | 0.07 | 63% |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Kingston places 26th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington Ontario | 197,737 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| 2 | Milton Ontario | 157,345 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| … | |||||
| 7 | Whitby Ontario | 162,413 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 8 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 23 | Cambridge Ontario | 165,354 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| 24 | Waterloo Ontario | 142,450 | 71.9 | 89.7 | C+ |
| 25 | Chatham Ontario | 112,716 | 72.1 | 74.8 | C+ |
| 26 | Kingston Ontario | 149,527 | 73.9 | 72.6 | C+ |
| 27 | Brantford Ontario | 123,521 | 78.7 | 101.8 | C |
| 28 | St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador | 128,693 | 81 | 104.2 | C |
| 29 | Langley British Columbia | 163,885 | 82.4 | 77.3 | C |
| … | |||||
| 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 Kingston in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 1,660 violent incidents a year reached Kingston’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 5,990 property crimes and 1,500 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Kingston’s index, one year at a time
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 83.8, and its lowest 2024, at 68.5. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 64.3 and 2025 gave 59.2.
Kingston Police under-reported to Statistics Canada from November 2024 to February 2025, after a cyber-attack, so its 2024 and 2025 figures run low: the change over these years is not a real fall.
Every year as a table
| Year | Kingston | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 69.3 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 68.5 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 83.8 | 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 Kingston, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Kingston
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | 149,527 | 73.9 | 72.6 | C+ |
| Loyalist | 19,761 | 35.7 | 52.3 | A |
| Frontenac Islands | 1,963 | 78.4 | 112.5 | C+ |
Nearby, 1 of 2 places with their own figures have a lower index than Kingston. Closest is Loyalist, 13.4 km away, at 35.7 to 73.9 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The index’s scale. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- What clearance means. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
- An index, not a verdict. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Kingston
Is Kingston safe?
Police-reported crime in Kingston scores 73.9 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 11.2 violent incidents and 40.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 60.3, the median for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
What is the most common crime in Kingston?
Police record theft under $5,000 most, 22.3 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (7.6) and fraud (6.6).
Is crime going up in Kingston?
No: the index fell 17%, from 83.8 in 2023 to 69.3 in 2025. The police area is small or partly reported, so treat the change with care.
How much of Kingston’s crime do police solve?
38%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 38%. Violent crime is cleared at 68% and non-violent crime at 26%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Kingston 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).