Photo: john bristow · CC BY-SA 2.0Machynlleth records public order at 2.9 times the rate of a typical town its size
Weighing it all, Machynlleth earns C for safety, with more crime per resident than 75% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area over September 2023 to August 2026. It has more violent crime than 79% of UK towns, and more burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 60%. Add to that, violent crime was up 8% in a year. Violence and property crime split as 36.1 violent and sexual offences and 10.9 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Machynlleth
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 8% more violent crime per resident in Machynlleth than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Machynlleth has the 477th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Streethay, Darenth and Godstone, higher than Upper Heyford, Meliden and Rockwell Green. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Machynlleth’s C for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 272 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Machynlleth against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Machynlleth runs highest on public order (6.9 per 1,000 against 2.4), violence & sexual offences (38.4 per 1,000 against 16.6) and criminal damage & arson (5.6 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 83 | 38.4 | 16.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 15 | 6.9 | 2.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 14 | 6.5 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 12 | 5.6 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 8 | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 2.8 | 2.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 6 | 2.8 | 1.1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 5 | 2.3 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 4 | 1.9 | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Towns its size: Machynlleth comes 477th of 550
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 295 | Crickhowell Powys | 2,108 | 23.3 | 5.9 | 3.2 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 357 | Hay-on-Wye Powys | 2,065 | 25.2 | 8 | 5.8 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 465 | Knighton Powys | 2,911 | 31.4 | 13.9 | 5.5 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 474 | Upper Heyford Oxfordshire | 2,481 | 39.1 | 7.5 | 5.7 | C |
| 475 | Meliden Clwyd | 2,002 | 38.5 | 8.2 | 5.7 | C |
| 476 | Rockwell Green Somerset | 2,854 | 39.6 | 7 | 2.1 | C |
| 477 | Machynlleth Powys | 2,161 | 36.1 | 10.9 | 5.7 | C |
| 478 | Trimdon County Durham | 2,835 | 26.3 | 21.3 | 12.6 | C− |
| 479 | Cwm Gwent | 2,507 | 30.3 | 17.4 | 4.5 | C− |
| 480 | Kidwelly Dyfed | 2,761 | 34.1 | 13.7 | 4.8 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 500 | Llanidloes Powys | 2,197 | 43 | 10.6 | 3.6 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Machynlleth, and others in Powys.
How crime in Machynlleth has moved
Dyfed Powys Police published four months short or not at all (Jan 2024, Feb 2024, Mar 2024 and Apr 2024), so the line breaks there and those months are left out of the rates. “Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +8% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -15% (towns its size +0%).
Crime in Machynlleth per 1,000 residents
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 10 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 5 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on Machynlleth’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 7 collisions with injuries inside Machynlleth in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Machynlleth is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Machynlleth’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Machynlleth had 1.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Machynlleth’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Machynlleth
Machynlleth records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Tywyn, 10.4 miles away, records 26 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Machynlleth’s 36.1.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Some months are short. Dyfed Powys Police published January 2024, February 2024, March 2024 and April 2024 only in part or not at all. Those months are left out of the rates, which average the months that were published in full; the raw counts include what was published.
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Machynlleth sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Machynlleth
Is Machynlleth safe?
Police recorded 36.1 violent and sexual offences and 10.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Machynlleth’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 25% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Machynlleth is 477th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Machynlleth?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 8%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 15%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Machynlleth?
Violence & sexual offences: 83 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (15) and criminal damage & arson (12), with 14 reports of anti-social behaviour.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · Welsh Government Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025, community safety domain by LSOA · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.