Is Guelph safe?
Canada · North America · data updated 2026-09-04
Guelph is a city in Canada, home to about 110k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 1,802 of 6,168, with a safety score of 81.0 out of 100 - among the safest cities in this dataset.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Canada are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.
How safe is Guelph really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Guelph recorded 1.1 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - well below the global city median. Canada is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 31.5), and low inequality is the strongest structural predictor of low city violence in this data.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Canada at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2025-06-10). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Canada without any avoid-travel warning in force. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.
What to watch out for in Canada
Terrorism in Canada · Crime · Illegal drugs and cannabis · Wildlife · Outdoor activities and adventure tourism · Road travel · Driving in winter · Hurricanes · Avalanches · Earthquakes and tsunamis · Thunderstorms · Winter storms · Tornadoes · Wildfires · +1 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Canada — country-level, not specific to Guelph. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 1.1 /100kcity-measured, 2022
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 31.5country, 2022
- Human development
- HDI 0.939country, 2023
- Income
- $66,820/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 110kurban centre · 2,609/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 5.3 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 76/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 82/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 75/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 2.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.89Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 6.6 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 97%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 2.8 doctors /1k2.5 hospital beds per 1,000
Natural hazards in Canada
- Flood
- 7.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Earthquake
- 4.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 2.3/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 1.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Canada as a whole, not Guelph specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Canada (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Canada; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For Guelph that gives 81.0/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Guelph compared with Toronto
| Measure | Guelph | Toronto | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 81.0 | 76.5 | +4.5 — better for Guelph |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 1.1 /100k | 2.1 /100k | −1.0 /100k — better for Guelph |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Canada, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Toronto →
Nearby cities
- Kitchener 81.0
- Burlington 79.9
- Brantford 73.1
- Oakville 79.9
- Hamilton 79.9
- Toronto 76.5
- St. Catharines 78.4
- London 80.4
See Guelph on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →