Locacity has analysed 12 months of official Police.uk crime data to rank Wales' major towns and cities by crime rate. The analysis covers 18 Built-Up Areas with a population of 25,000 or above, using ONS Census 2021 population data to calculate crimes per 1,000 residents.
Key Findings
Caerphilly
Safest urban area in Wales
87.9
Regional average crimes per 1,000 residents
Rhyl
Highest crime rate in Wales
Rankings — Crimes per 1,000 Residents
| Rank | Area | Crimes per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caerphilly | 48.1 |
| 2 | Penarth | 48.6 |
| 3 | Pontypool | 53.6 |
| 4 | Cwmbran | 57.7 |
| 5 | Newport | 65.3 |
| 6 | Neath | 73.8 |
| 7 | Bridgend | 79.7 |
| 8 | Barry | 83.8 |
| 9 | Aberdare | 85.3 |
| 10 | Swansea | 90.2 |
| 11 | Pontypridd | 91.4 |
| 12 | Port Talbot | 94 |
| 13 | Cardiff | 96.8 |
| 14 | Merthyr Tydfil | 104 |
| 15 | Colwyn Bay | 105.9 |
| 16 | Llanelli | 106.9 |
| 17 | Wrexham | 132.7 |
| 18 | Rhyl | 165.2 |
Source: Locacity analysis of Police.uk data (April 2025 – March 2026) and ONS Census 2021 population estimates.
Analysis
Caerphilly emerged as the safest urban area in Wales, recording 48.1 crimes per 1,000 residents — one of the lowest rates of any area analysed across England and Wales. Penarth ranked second at 48.6, followed by Pontypool (53.6) and Cwmbran (57.7).
Rhyl recorded by far the highest crime rate in Wales at 165.2 crimes per 1,000 residents — more than three times the rate of Caerphilly and significantly above any other Welsh town. Wrexham ranked second from bottom at 132.7, also well above the Welsh average.
Cardiff, Wales' capital and largest city, ranked 13th at 96.8 crimes per 1,000 residents — above the regional average of 87.9. Swansea ranked 10th at 90.2, broadly in line with the regional average.
Wales's regional average of 87.9 crimes per 1,000 residents is below the national average of 101.5 crimes per 1,000 residents across all major urban areas in England and Wales analysed by Locacity (excludes Greater Manchester, where data is not published through Police.uk).
The findings carry real implications for the property market. According to a Churchill Home Insurance survey, around 29,000 property sales fall through every year across England and Wales due to buyers’ concerns about local crime — representing an estimated £6.6 billion in lost property transactions annually. Understanding crime levels before committing to a purchase has never been more important.
However, these figures represent averages across entire urban areas. Crime levels can vary significantly from one street to the next within the same town or city — making street-level analysis essential for anyone making a property decision.
What this means for homebuyers and renters
Regional rankings provide a useful starting point, but they only tell part of the story. A Locacity report gives you a detailed, street-level picture of crime around a specific property — including the area immediately surrounding your home, nearby schools, transport hubs, and 999 police and ambulance response times.
Methodology
- • Analysis covers 18 Built-Up Areas (BUAs) in Wales with a population of 25,000 or above, as defined by the Office for National Statistics. A lower population threshold than other regional analyses has been applied to ensure adequate coverage of Welsh urban areas.
- • Crime data sourced from Police.uk open data service (April 2025 – March 2026).
- • Population data sourced from ONS Census 2021.
- • BUA boundaries sourced from ONS Built-Up Areas (December 2022) boundary data.
- • 999 ambulance response time data is not available for Wales and is excluded from Welsh Locacity reports.
- • Crime coordinates in Police.uk data are approximated to the nearest street in accordance with Police.uk anonymisation policy; a small number of crimes near BUA boundaries may therefore be assigned to an adjacent area.