Photo: Maxime Laterreur · CC BY 4.0Fewer crimes per resident are recorded in Waterloo than in 76% of Canadian towns
Each of the 4 towns on its borders with figures records more crime per resident. On top of that, a Safety Grade of A− follows from crime the police covering Waterloo reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #124 of 503 in Quebec. For every 1,000 residents, 9.4 violent incidents and 11.2 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the typical town its size, the figures are 12.9 and 31.2. Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 73.7 and 34.4.
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 Haute-Yamaska MRC.
What stands out about safety in Waterloo
Lower than many towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Waterloo places 9th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Above-typical clearance
Police cleared 48% of Waterloo’s crime, weighted by seriousness (65% of violent crime, 34% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Heavier on violence
Set beside the typical Canadian town its size, Waterloo’s two halves part ways: 73.7 for violence (typical 85.7) and 34.4 for the rest (typical 62.8). By type ↓
Close to Quebec’s typical town
Waterloo’s index of 45.3 compares with 56.1 for the typical town in Quebec. 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: A− for Waterloo
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: #124 of 503 in Quebec and #415 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.
Waterloo’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Waterloo runs highest on drug offences (0.9 per 1,000 against 0.7). Mischief and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 22.3 | 0.9 | 51% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 1.3 | 0.05 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.3 | 0.01 | — |
| Robbery | 1.7 | 0.07 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 42.7 | 1.7 | 26% |
| Possession of stolen property | 5 | 0.2 | 80% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 28.7 | 1.1 | 13% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 13.7 | 0.5 | 7% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 55.7 | 2.2 | 25% |
| Mischief | 42 | 1.6 | 14% |
| Weapons violations | 1.7 | 0.07 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 61.7 | 2.4 | 97% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 6.7 | 0.3 | 64% |
| Drug violations | 23.7 | 0.9 | 72% |
| Impaired driving | 28.3 | 1.1 | 98% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 22.7 | 0.9 | 7% |
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.
In Waterloo, down 14% between 2023 and 2025
Crime Severity Index
From 49.4 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 42.5 in 2025. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Waterloo | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 44.1 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 49.4 | 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 Waterloo, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, Waterloo places 9th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Ferris Ontario | 5,835 | 17.7 | 27.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Verchères Quebec | 5,819 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| 7 | Hudson Quebec | 5,533 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| 8 | Orford Quebec | 5,698 | 39.9 | 58.3 | A− |
| 9 | Waterloo Quebec | 5,714 | 45.3 | 73.7 | A− |
| 10 | New Glasgow Prince Edward Island | 5,502 | 46.6 | 50.7 | A− |
| 11 | Gananoque Ontario | 5,568 | 47.6 | 61.3 | B+ |
| 12 | Lac-Mégantic Quebec | 5,947 | 48.4 | 81.3 | B+ |
| 13 | Val-David Quebec | 5,920 | 48.8 | 71.8 | B+ |
| 14 | Cookshire-Eaton Quebec | 5,491 | 50.5 | 89.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 16 | Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan Quebec | 5,675 | 54 | 93.4 | B |
| 17 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 57.5 | 87.6 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | The Pas Manitoba | 5,634 | 572.1 | 753.3 | 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 Waterloo in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 240 violent incidents a year in the 26,100-resident police area around Waterloo, 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 290 property crimes, plus 160 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 Waterloo
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 5,714 | 45.3 | 73.7 | A− |
| Shefford | 7,704 | 45.3 | 73.7 | A− |
| Stukely-Sud | 1,242 | 39.9 | 58.3 | A− |
| Bromont | 12,413 | 38.1 | 45.9 | A |
| Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford | 1,552 | 45.3 | 73.7 | A− |
| Lac-Brome | 6,307 | 72.8 | 96 | C+ |
| Granby | 72,180 | 62.6 | 92.5 | B− |
Nearby, 2 of 4 places with their own figures have a lower index than Waterloo. Closest is Stukely-Sud, 10.2 km away, at 39.9 to 45.3 here. The comparison skips 2 neighbours reported under the same police.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Policed as an MRC. The Sûreté du Québec reports by MRC, so the figures cover every municipality it polices there, Waterloo among them.
- The index’s scale. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- 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 Waterloo
Is Waterloo safe?
Waterloo measures 45.3 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 9.4 violent incidents and 11.2 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Waterloo?
The three biggest groups are assault at 4.6, fraud at 3.6 and other Criminal Code offences at 2.9, each per 1,000 residents a year.
Is crime going up in Waterloo?
No: the index fell 14%, from 49.4 in 2023 to 42.5 in 2025.
How much of Waterloo’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 48%: 65% for violent crime and 34% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Waterloo 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).