Photo: Gogerr · CC BY-SA 4.0St. Marys sees less crime per resident than two in three Canadian towns
Behind the grade sit 6.0 violent incidents and 12.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. Measured on crime the police covering St. Marys reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of B+: #295 of 862 in Ontario. Statistics Canada puts its Crime Severity Index at 52.5 for 2023–2025; the typical Canadian town its size scores 68.5.
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: the Middlesex (Strathroy) detachment area.
What stands out about safety in St. Marys
A high clearance rate
For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the typical clearance rate is 34%; St. Marys’s police clear 58%, 91% of violent crime and 42% of the rest. Questions ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, St. Marys comes 24th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Much like Ontario’s towns
The typical Ontario town scores 56.2; St. Marys, 52.5. Towns its size ↓
More severe than in 2023
In 2023 the index in St. Marys stood at 30.5, by 2025 at 44. Over the same years the typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: B+ for St. Marys
How sure: Less sure than most. No detachment reports for St. Marys itself, so the grade rests on the nearest one’s figures, 51 km away.
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: #295 of 862 in Ontario and #570 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.
Year by year in St. Marys: up 44%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
2024 was the peak (83.2) and 2023 the trough (30.5). Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | St. Marys | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 44 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 83.2 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 30.5 | 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 St. Marys, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
What police record in St. Marys, by type
Against the typical town its size, St. Marys runs highest on drug offences (1.2 per 1,000 against 0.7). Break and enter and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 0 | 0 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0 | 0 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 7 | 1.1 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 10.7 | 1.7 | 19% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3 | 0.5 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 18.3 | 2.9 | 20% |
| Mischief | 17 | 2.7 | 19% |
| Weapons violations | 4.3 | 0.7 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 19 | 3 | 72% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 2.7 | 0.4 | — |
| Drug violations | 7.7 | 1.2 | 87% |
| Impaired driving | 42.3 | 6.7 | 99% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 5.7 | 0.9 | 12% |
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.
Around 38 violent incidents a year at the detachment nearest St. Marys (6,330 residents), 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 80 property crimes and 110 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Among 40 towns its size, St. Marys places 24th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douro-Dummer Ontario | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
| 2 | Alnwick/Haldimand Ontario | 8,197 | 21.6 | 26.9 | A+ |
| 3 | Plattsville Ontario | 8,251 | 25.1 | 27.5 | A+ |
| 4 | Otonabee-South Monaghan Ontario | 8,084 | 26 | 27.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 21 | Cardinal Ontario | 7,952 | 51.4 | 74.1 | B+ |
| 22 | Argyle Nova Scotia | 8,216 | 52.1 | 68.3 | B+ |
| 23 | McNab/Braeside Ontario | 8,340 | 52.1 | 81.8 | B+ |
| 24 | St. Marys Ontario | 8,203 | 52.5 | 75.2 | B+ |
| 25 | Acton Vale Quebec | 7,945 | 54.1 | 86 | B |
| 26 | La Malbaie Quebec | 8,293 | 57.2 | 83.8 | B |
| 27 | Lincoln New Brunswick | 8,093 | 63.2 | 81.9 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Happy Valley-Goose Bay Newfoundland and Labrador | 8,197 | 360 | 345 | 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 St. Marys in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Crime in the places around St. Marys
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Marys | 8,203 | 52.5 | 75.2 | B+ |
| Perth South | 4,055 | 52.5 | 75.2 | B+ |
| Stratford | 36,097 | 62.2 | 65.5 | B− |
One place nearby is policed together with it and reported as one, so there is nothing to compare.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. Statistics Canada builds the index from every crime police record, weighted by how seriously the courts treat it, and divides by the population. It adds a warning of its own: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Canada’s own index has been below its 2006 base of 100 for years, so 100 marks a fixed reference, not today’s national average.
- Cleared, not convicted. 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.
Questions about safety in St. Marys
Is St. Marys safe?
St. Marys’s Crime Severity Index is 52.5 (2023–2025 mean); its police record 6 violent incidents and 12.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set that beside 68.5, the median for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is the most common crime in St. Marys?
Police record Criminal Code traffic offences most, 11.1 per 1,000 residents a year, ahead of other Criminal Code offences (4.4) and assault (3.4).
Is crime going up in St. Marys?
Over 2023–2025 the index climbed 44%, to 44 from 30.5.
How much of St. Marys’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 58% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 91% of violent and 42% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers St. Marys 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).