What the data says, which areas often come out on top, and how to check if somewhere feels right for you.
If you’re thinking about moving home, safety is probably near the top of your wish list. Whether you’re relocating as a family, a couple, or on your own, it’s natural to ask: “Where is the safest place to live in UK?”
The simple answer is: it depends on what you mean by safe. Different studies use different data, focus on various types of locations, and examine other kinds of risk.
That’s why you’ll see several “winners” depending on which report you read. Rather than chasing a single magic postcode, it’s more helpful to understand how safety is measured and which types of areas, and specific places, tend to rank well.
This guide walks through what “safe” actually means, highlights some of the UK’s safest regions and cities according to recent research, and gives you practical steps to check how safe an area feels for you, wherever you decide to move.
What Do We Mean by “Safest Place to Live”?
Most rankings of the safest place to live in the UK are based mainly on crime statistics. But even there, different studies use different angles:
- Some look at overall recorded crime per 1,000 residents, using police or ONS data.
- Others build a “safety index” that blends crime rates with factors such as CCTV coverage, reoffending rates, and crime severity.
- Some focus on particular crime types (for example, violent crime vs. burglary).
- Others narrow in on specific categories such as “safest cities to buy a home” or “safest cities for students”.
On top of this, most big reports are based on data from a single point in time, so rankings can change from year to year as local conditions and policing priorities shift. That explains why one list might rank a rural county at the top, while another might crown a small city or a commuter town.
Beyond crime, “safety” can also include things such as:
- Road safety and traffic accidents
- Anti-social behaviour and noise
- Flood risk or environmental hazards
- Access to hospitals, GPs, and emergency services
- How safe people feel walking around their area after dark
So when you see headlines about the “safest place to live in the UK”, it’s essential to look at which factors the study has actually used and how those match what you care about.
So, Where Is the Safest Place to Live in the UK?
There isn’t a single town or city that everyone agrees is the safest place to live in the UK, but specific locations keep cropping up in recent safety rankings based on crime data and related indicators.
Safer Counties and Wider Regions
If you prefer more space and countryside then analyses of police and ONS data often highlight areas such as the Shetland Islands, East Dunbartonshire, Rutland, North Yorkshire, Devon & Cornwall, Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire (as wider regions), Wiltshire, Shropshire, Gloucestershire, and Surrey as having crime rates significantly below the England & Wales average.
These areas tend to be more rural or semi-rural, with smaller populations, strong community ties, and generally less nightlife-related crime than large urban centres.
Safer Cities to Live or Study In
If you like the idea of city living but still want a strong sense of security, compact historic or university cities often rank highly. The safest cities in UK that come up more frequently are York, Edinburgh, Bath, Cambridge, Oxford, Exeter, Norwich, and Brighton & Hove, combining relatively low crime rates with walkable centres and a strong local identity.
Some of these cities also rate well specifically for student safety, thanks to good transport, active policing in student areas, and plenty of everyday footfall.
Suburban and Commuter Hotspots
If you want a quieter base with good links to bigger job markets, certain suburban and commuter areas also stand out. The London Borough of Sutton has been named the safest place to live in Great Britain in the 2025 City Safety Index, with a safety score of 8.09/10 and a crime rate of around 61 offences per 1,000 people, well below many other urban areas.
Property-focused safety reports also point to towns such as Wokingham, Harrogate, Chester, Sevenoaks, and Horsham as some of the safest places in the UK to buy a home, reflecting low crime levels and strong community indicators.
Family-Friendly Areas
When rankings look specifically at where it’s safest to raise a family, you often see an overlap between rural counties and smaller cities.
Family-friendly locations include West Berkshire, North Yorkshire, Devon & Cornwall, Wiltshire, Surrey, York, Exeter, Edinburgh, and Aberdeenshire, blending comparatively low crime with good schools, green space, and community life.
The Big Picture
Put together, these lists show that the “safest” areas tend to be a mix of rural counties, smaller historic or university cities, and well-off commuter towns and suburbs. Rather than hunting for a single “winner”, it’s usually more helpful to decide which type of area fits your lifestyle, budget, and work patterns, then narrow down to specific neighbourhoods that feel right when you visit.
Safety vs. Cost of Living and House Prices
One interesting pattern that some analysts have spotted is that safer areas don’t always have the fastest-growing house prices. A 2025 review of crime and property data found that UK towns and cities with the highest crime rates had, on average, seen faster house price growth over the previous five years than the 20 safest areas.
In simple terms:
- Very safe, desirable areas can already be expensive, which may limit how much further prices rise.
- Cheaper areas with higher crime rates can see faster growth as buyers are priced out of “prime” locations and seek more affordable alternatives.
That doesn’t mean you should ignore safety just because prices might grow faster elsewhere. It does mean there’s usually a trade-off between:
- Safety and peace of mind
- Budget and affordability
- Proximity to work, family, or city centres
- Lifestyle factors like nightlife, culture, and transport
When you weigh up where the safest place to live in the UK is for you, it’s about deciding which compromise you’re happiest to make.
How to Check How Safe an Area Feels for You
Once you’ve narrowed down a few potential locations, here are some practical ways to explore how safe they feel in real life:
Look up official crime data.
Check local police or government sites (such as the “crime in your area” tools many forces provide) for crime maps and statistics. Look not only at totals but at the types of crime most common locally.
Walk the area at different times.
If you can, visit during the day, in the early evening, and at weekends. Notice lighting, how busy streets feel, and whether you’d feel comfortable walking home at those times.
Talk to people who live there.
If you know anyone locally, ask what the area is like to live in. Online community groups can also give a flavour of everyday issues, how quickly problems are tackled, and how people feel about their neighbourhood.
Scan local news and forums.
A quick look at local news can show whether crime incidents are frequent, rare, or concentrated in particular pockets of a town rather than everywhere.
Look at the environment.
Small details can be revealing: well-kept streets, parks that feel used and cared for, active neighbourhood watch schemes, and visible investment in local facilities all contribute to a sense of safety.
Each of these steps won’t give you a complete picture on its own, but together they help you decide whether a particular street, estate, or town feels right for you, far more than any national list alone.
Planning a Move to a Safer Area?
If reading this has got you thinking about relocating to somewhere that feels safer or better suited to your lifestyle, the next step is practical: planning the move itself.
That’s where a reliable removals team comes in. Whether you’re moving across town or to an entirely new part of the UK, a good removals service will:
- Help you plan timings around work, school, or tenancy dates
- Protect your belongings during packing and transport
- Take care of the heavy lifting so you can focus on paperwork and settling in
- Offer flexible options, from full-house moves to smaller van-based moves
When you’re ready to turn your research into reality and make that move, we’re here to help.
Get in Touch for a Moving Quote
Choosing where to live is a big decision; actually moving there shouldn’t add extra stress if you’re considering a move, whether to one of the UK’s regularly ranked “safe” areas or simply to a place that feels right for you – we can help you get there smoothly.
Tell us a bit about where you’re moving from and to, and what you need to move, and we’ll put together a precise, no-obligation quote.
