Photo: Miguel Mendez from Malahide, Ireland · CC BY 2.0Letterkenny stands out for public order offences: 3 times the rate of a typical town its size
All 6 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. The overall Safety Grade is C− (#233 of 320 Irish towns), which means more crime per resident than 82% of Irish towns, judged on incidents the Gardaí recorded in its station areas from 2023 to 2025. The graded rate fell 24% from 2016 to 2025.
Incidents per 1,000 residents (Census 2022) a year, 2023–2025 average, in the Garda station areas residents live in. Homicide and sexual offences aren’t published by station, so no figure here includes them.
What stands out about safety in Letterkenny
Public order offences: high for a town its size
Letterkenny records 15.9 incidents of public order offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.2 in the typical town among Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Less recorded than in 2016
The Gardaí recorded 21.6 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 of Letterkenny’s residents in 2016 and 16.3 in 2025. Across Ireland the rate went from 12 to 11.6. Year by year ↓
Above the Irish rate
The station areas Letterkenny’s residents live in record 17.5 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025), against 11.9 across Ireland: 1.5 times the national rate. Safety Grade ↓
More crime than many places its size
Among the 40 Irish towns closest in size, Letterkenny ranks 29th, counting from the least graded crime: lower than Jobstown, Old Bawn and Wexford, higher than Mullingar, Balbriggan and Crumlin. Towns its size ↓
Written from CSO’s recorded crime by Garda station (CJA11) and Census 2022. Figures are incidents the Gardaí recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Letterkenny’s grade
How sure: The rate comes from Garda station areas, shared out by where residents live, not from crime inside the town’s own boundary.
The grade counts assaults and harassment, kidnapping, robbery, weapons offences, burglary and damage per resident, averaged over three years, and places the town among every Irish town and city neighbourhood of 1,000 people or more (the five city totals aren’t in it).
Its place: #233 of 320 Irish towns.
Violent crime, burglary and damage the Gardaí recorded per resident, 2023–2025, against Irish towns of 1,000 people or more.
Letterkenny, year by year
Violent · per 1,000 residents
Burglary & damage · per 1,000 residents
Its highest year was 2019, at 24.2 per 1,000 residents, and its lowest 2021, at 14.5. Across Ireland the same rate went from 12 in 2016 to 11.6 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Violent | Burglary & damage | Graded | Ireland | All recorded crime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11.3 | 5 | 16.3 | 11.6 | 72.4 |
| 2024 | 10.7 | 7 | 17.7 | 12.1 | 82 |
| 2023 | 10.2 | 8.2 | 18.4 | 11.9 | 79.6 |
| 2022 | 12.6 | 8.1 | 20.7 | 11.6 | 77.2 |
| 2021 | 7.9 | 6.6 | 14.5 | 10.2 | 67.1 |
| 2020 | 10.3 | 7.8 | 18.1 | 10.6 | 73.8 |
| 2019 | 12 | 12.2 | 24.2 | 12.8 | 107.4 |
| 2018 | 10.9 | 10.1 | 21 | 12.4 | 98.1 |
| 2017 | 10.8 | 11.5 | 22.2 | 12.8 | 91.9 |
| 2016 | 10.1 | 11.5 | 21.6 | 12 | 86.4 |
CSO CJA11, recorded crime incidents by Garda station, 2016–2025, shared to the town by where its residents live. Every year is divided by the residents counted in 2022, so the line moves with recorded crime, not with population. CSO publishes recorded crime “under reservation”, its flag on the quality of Garda recording.
Violence, burglary and damage the Gardaí recorded each year in the station areas where Letterkenny’s residents live, per 1,000 residents, against Ireland as a whole.
What was recorded, by type
Against the typical town its size, Letterkenny runs highest on public order offences (15.9 per 1,000 against 5.2) and assaults and harassment (9.4 per 1,000 against 4.6). Theft and burglary sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public order offences | not graded | 15.9 | 5.2 |
| Theft | not graded | 14.6 | 17 |
| Dangerous or negligent acts | not graded | 10.9 | 4.6 |
| Road and traffic offences | not graded | 10.2 | 9.1 |
| Assaults and harassment | Violent | 9.4 | 4.6 |
| Drug offences | not graded | 6.3 | 3 |
| Damage to property | Burglary & damage | 5.4 | 4.7 |
| Offences against justice | not graded | 2.4 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Burglary & damage | 1.4 | 1.9 |
| Weapons and explosives | Violent | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Robbery, extortion and hijacking | Violent | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Other offences | not graded | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Kidnapping | Violent | 0.1 | 0 |
The groups are CSO’s. Dangerous or negligent acts, drug offences, road and traffic offences and offences against justice count Garda checks more than victims; they, theft, public order and other offences are shown but not graded. Homicide and sexual offences aren’t published by station; fraud is left out.
Per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Letterkenny is 29th of 40 towns its size, counting from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas Cork | 22,029 | 2.4 | 2.3 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 26 | Mullingar Westmeath | 22,667 | 8.9 | 8 | C− |
| 27 | Balbriggan Dublin | 24,322 | 8.9 | 8 | C− |
| 28 | Crumlin Dublin | 19,287 | 6.8 | 10.3 | C− |
| 29 | Letterkenny Donegal | 22,549 | 10.7 | 6.8 | C− |
| 30 | Jobstown Dublin | 23,437 | 7.7 | 10.5 | C− |
| 31 | Old Bawn Dublin | 18,758 | 7.8 | 10.7 | D |
| 32 | Wexford Wexford | 21,524 | 8.7 | 9.9 | D |
| … | |||||
| 40 | The Liberties Dublin | 18,460 | 15.5 | 17.7 | D− |
The 40 Irish towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ people closest in population; the city totals are left out. Graded crime: violent crime, burglary and damage.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, 2023 to 2025, counting from the least: towns ranked near Letterkenny, and others in Co. Donegal.
Violent incidents recorded a year: about 11 per 1,000 residents
Violence per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025
Burglary & damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 7 burglaries or acts of criminal damage, plus 15 thefts, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded incident.
Crime in the places around Letterkenny
| Town | People | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letterkenny | 22,549 | 10.7 | 6.8 | C− |
| Ramelton | 1,288 | 3.1 | 3.2 | A− |
| Convoy | 1,702 | 5.5 | 3.6 | B |
| Raphoe | 1,161 | 2.9 | 4 | A− |
| Milford | 1,076 | 8.5 | 5.5 | C |
| Newtowncunningham | 1,192 | 3.1 | 2.4 | A |
| Ballybofey-Stranorlar | 5,406 | 6.6 | 4.5 | C+ |
Letterkenny records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Ramelton, 10.2 km away, records 3.1 recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Letterkenny’s 10.7.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three-year average. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Station areas, not the town’s boundary. Crime is published by Garda station. Each station’s incidents are divided by the people living in its area (Census 2022), and Letterkenny takes the rates of the areas its residents live in, weighted by how many live in each.
- Checks are shown, not graded. Road traffic, dangerous driving, drug and justice offences mostly record Garda activity: one rural station can book thousands of camera detections. The grade leaves them out, with theft and public order, and counts violence, burglary and damage.
- Each year, and one average. CSO publishes crime by station once a year. The chart follows every year since 2016; the grade averages 2023, 2024 and 2025, because a small station area’s count swings from year to year. There are no months.
- No streets. No street- or ward-level crime is published in Ireland: the finest grain is the Garda station area.
Questions about safety in Letterkenny
Is Letterkenny safe?
The Gardaí recorded about 10.7 violent incidents and 6.8 burglaries or acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year in the station areas Letterkenny’s residents live in, averaged over 2023–2025. That earns a C− for safety: more crime per resident than 82% of Irish towns.
What is the most common crime in Letterkenny?
Public order offences: about 358 a year (2023–2025 average). Next came theft (329) and dangerous or negligent acts (246).
Is crime going up in Letterkenny?
The recorded rate in the graded categories fell 24% from 2016 to 2025: 21.6 per 1,000 residents in 2016, 16.3 in 2025. The grade uses the three-year average, so one unusual year moves it less.
How does Letterkenny compare with Ireland as a whole?
The station areas Letterkenny’s residents live in record 17.5 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025). Across Ireland the figure is 11.9.
Is Letterkenny safer than the towns around it?
6 of the 6 neighbouring towns with figures record less violence, burglary and damage per resident than Letterkenny (17.5 per 1,000 a year). The lowest is Newtowncunningham, at 5.5.
How sure is Letterkenny’s Safety Grade?
The rate comes from Garda station areas, shared out by where residents live, not from crime inside the town’s own boundary.
Source: CSO, Recorded crime incidents by Garda station (CJA11), 2023–2025, and Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0); TownRatings calculation.
Sources: CSO, Recorded crime incidents by Garda station (CJA11), 2023–2025 · CSO, Census 2022 Small Areas and the 2011 Garda sub-districts · Safety Grade: TownRatings calculation. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).