Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Parry Sound runs higher than in 75% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 121.3 and other offences for 81.4, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. Its letter for safety is C, worked out from crime the police covering Parry Sound reported over 2023 to 2025: #795 of 862 in Ontario. Add to that, recorded violent incidents ran at 21.4 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 36.2, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Each of the 4 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 Parry Sound
Drug offences: high for a town its size
Parry Sound records 2.7 incidents of drug offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 0.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Above-typical clearance
Police cleared 63% of Parry Sound’s crime, weighted by seriousness (88% of violent crime, 48% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Above Ontario’s typical town
Parry Sound’s index of 92.2 compares with 56.2 for the typical town in Ontario. Towns its size ↓
Higher than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Parry Sound places 30th from the lowest index. 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: C for Parry Sound
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: #795 of 862 in Ontario and #1,821 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.
Parry Sound’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Parry Sound runs highest on drug offences (2.7 per 1,000 against 0.7), sexual assault (2.6 per 1,000 against 0.9) and fraud (9.3 per 1,000 against 4.9). Break and enter sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 4.7 | 0.6 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4.7 | 0.6 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 13.3 | 1.8 | 50% |
| Possession of stolen property | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 3.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft over $5,000 | 8 | 1.1 | 21% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 122.7 | 16.4 | 33% |
| Mischief | 50.7 | 6.8 | 44% |
| Weapons violations | 6 | 0.8 | 67% |
| Administration of justice violations | 84 | 11.2 | 86% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10 | 1.3 | 47% |
| Drug violations | 20.3 | 2.7 | 77% |
| Impaired driving | 21 | 2.8 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 0.09 | — |
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.
From 2023 to 2025, Parry Sound’s index climbed 16%
Crime Severity Index
Of the years charted, 2025 weighed most (100.3) and 2023 least (86.6). The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Parry Sound | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 100.3 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 89.7 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 86.6 | 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 Parry Sound, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Parry Sound is 30th 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+ |
| 2 | Whitewater Region Ontario | 7,899 | 29.1 | 36.6 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 4 | Chatsworth Ontario | 7,770 | 32 | 38.1 | A |
| 5 | Chesley Ontario | 7,639 | 33.7 | 38.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 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− |
| 32 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 128.7 | 264.7 | D |
| 33 | Westlock County Alberta | 7,556 | 129.8 | 116.4 | 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 Parry Sound in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
About 160 violent incidents a year reached Parry Sound’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.
And about 270 property crimes, plus 170 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 Parry Sound
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parry Sound | 7,584 | 92.2 | 121.3 | C |
| The Archipelago | 1,057 | 106.9 | 196.4 | C− |
| McDougall | 3,002 | 106.9 | 196.4 | C− |
| McKellar | 1,534 | 32.8 | 34.7 | A |
| Carling | 1,609 | — | — | — |
| Seguin | 5,761 | 106.9 | 196.4 | C− |
Nearby, 1 of 4 places with their own figures have a lower index than Parry Sound. McKellar, 16.4 km away, is the nearest lower one, at 32.8 to 92.2.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Reading the number. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- Solved cases. A cleared case is one police consider solved. Whether anyone is convicted is a separate matter the rate doesn’t follow.
- How serious, not how safe. Police-reported incidents, each multiplied by a weight drawn from court sentences, summed and divided by the population: that is the index, and its makers attach a caution, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
Questions about safety in Parry Sound
Is Parry Sound safe?
Against a typical 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Parry Sound’s Crime Severity Index stands at 92.2 for 2023–2025. Its police record 21.4 violent incidents and 36.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Parry Sound?
Police record theft under $5,000 most, 16.4 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (16) and assault (10.3).
Is crime going up in Parry Sound?
Over 2023–2025 the index climbed 16%, to 100.3 from 86.6.
How much of Parry Sound’s crime do police solve?
63%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 34%. Violent crime is cleared at 88% and non-violent crime at 48%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Parry Sound 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).