Locacity has analysed 12 months of official Police.uk crime data to rank Yorkshire and the Humber's major towns and cities by crime rate. The analysis covers 12 Built-Up Areas with a population of 75,000 or above, using ONS Census 2021 population data to calculate crimes per 1,000 residents.
Key Findings
Harrogate
Safest major urban area in Yorkshire and the Humber
120.2
Regional average crimes per 1,000 residents
Doncaster
Highest crime rate in Yorkshire and the Humber
Rankings — Crimes per 1,000 Residents
| Rank | Area | Crimes per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrogate | 63.2 |
| 2 | York | 97.2 |
| 3 | Sheffield | 101.4 |
| 4 | Huddersfield | 105.4 |
| 5 | Scunthorpe | 114.6 |
| 6 | Kingston upon Hull | 115 |
| 7 | Wakefield | 130.5 |
| 8 | Leeds | 133 |
| 9 | Bradford | 133.4 |
| 10 | Halifax | 136.5 |
| 11 | Grimsby | 141.2 |
| 12 | Doncaster | 171.5 |
Source: Locacity analysis of Police.uk data (April 2025 – March 2026) and ONS Census 2021 population estimates.
Analysis
Harrogate emerged as the safest major urban area in Yorkshire and the Humber by a considerable margin, recording 63.2 crimes per 1,000 residents — one of the lowest rates of any area analysed across England and Wales. York ranked second at 97.2, well below the regional average of 120.2, followed by Sheffield (101.4) and Huddersfield (105.4).
Doncaster recorded the highest crime rate in the region at 171.5 crimes per 1,000 residents — more than 170% higher than Harrogate, and one of the highest rates recorded in any Locacity regional analysis. Grimsby ranked second from bottom at 141.2, followed by Halifax (136.5).
Yorkshire and the Humber records a regional average of 120.2 crimes per 1,000 residents — one of the highest of any region in England and Wales, above the North West (105.1), East Midlands (115.9), London (106.2), South East (89.6), South West (91.0) and West Midlands (85.9). Only the North East (128.6) records a higher regional average. Leeds and Bradford, the region's two largest cities, ranked 8th and 9th respectively at 133.0 and 133.4.
Yorkshire and the Humber's regional average of 120.2 crimes per 1,000 residents is significantly above 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 12 Built-Up Areas (BUAs) in Yorkshire and the Humber with a population of 75,000 or above, as defined by the Office for National Statistics.
- • 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.
- • 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.
- • Greater Manchester Police does not publish data through Police.uk and is excluded from all Locacity analysis.