Photo: Hozombel at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Milton records less crime per resident than 94% of Canadian towns
Split in two, the index gives 28.3 for violence and 32.8 for everything else (normally 75.2 and 54.2). None of the 5 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. Scored on crime the police covering Milton reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on A for safety: #100 of 862 in Ontario. Out of every 1,000 residents, 3.6 violent incidents and 18.3 incidents of property crime are reported annually, 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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts for the Halton Region (Oakville/Burlington) service area.
What stands out about safety in Milton
Lower than most of Ontario
Milton’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, Milton places 2nd from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Violent crime scores 28.3 on Milton’s index against 75.2 for the typical Canadian town its size; non-violent crime, 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.
Milton: A 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: #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.
Which crimes make up Milton’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Milton 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.
Milton is 2nd 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 |
| 2 | Milton Ontario | 157,345 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| 3 | Lévis Quebec | 160,882 | 34.5 | 57.5 | A |
| 4 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 40.5 | 49.7 | A− |
| 5 | Terrebonne Quebec | 126,872 | 41.6 | 72.5 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 7 | Oshawa Ontario | 213,592 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 8 | Whitby Ontario | 162,413 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 9 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| 10 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 45.8 | 61.4 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 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 Milton in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
666,500 residents, about 2,380 violent incidents a year: the police area Milton belongs to, 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.
Year by year in Milton: down 5%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
From 32.3 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 30.6 in 2025. The comparison line, the typical Canadian town its size, runs from 64.3 in 2023 to 59.2 by 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Milton | 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 Milton, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Milton
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | 157,345 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| Lisgar | 31,627 | 56.2 | 75.6 | B |
| Churchill Meadows | 48,872 | 56.2 | 75.6 | B |
| Meadowvale | 37,821 | 56.2 | 75.6 | B |
| Central Erin Mills | 36,393 | 56.2 | 75.6 | B |
| Oakville | 243,107 | 31.4 | 28.3 | A |
| Erin Mills | 39,194 | 56.2 | 75.6 | B |
Milton has the lowest index of the places around it. Sharing its police with one neighbour, it shares that neighbour’s figure as well, so the neighbour isn’t compared.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- A regional police service. Milton is policed by a service that covers other municipalities too, and Statistics Canada reports the service as a whole.
- Reading the number. 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.
Questions about safety in Milton
Is Milton safe?
Milton scores 31.4 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), where the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more is 60.3; per 1,000 residents a year that is 3.6 violent incidents and 18.3 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Milton?
The three biggest groups are theft under $5,000 at 9.1, fraud at 3.4 and motor vehicle theft at 2.2, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Milton?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 5%, to 30.6 from 32.3.
How much of Milton’s crime do police solve?
39%, 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 29%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Milton 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).