Halifax scores 77 out of 100 (high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 2161 of 6168 cities worldwide. The score combines the homicide rate, nearby conflict deaths, income equality and human development from published data (UNODC, UCDP, World Bank, UNDP).

Is Halifax safe?

Canada · North America · data updated 2026-09-04

76.5High · rank 2161 / 6,168
safer than 65% of ranked cities

Halifax is a city in Canada, home to about 218k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,161 of 6,168, with a safety score of 76.5 out of 100 - comfortably in the safer part of the ranking.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

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 Halifax really?

The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Halifax recorded 2.1 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2022 - close to 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 Halifax. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 2.1 /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: 218kurban centre · 2,478/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 Halifax 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

Low homicide40%59

Peace25%100

Equality25%74

Development10%94

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 Halifax that gives 76.5/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Halifax compared with Boston

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Halifax, red favours Boston.
Measure	Halifax	Boston	Difference
Safety score	76.5	67.0	+9.5 — better for Halifax
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	2.1 /100k	3.6 /100k	−1.5 /100k — better for Halifax
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	31.5	41.8	−10.3 — better for Halifax
Human development (HDI)	0.939	0.938	+0.001 — better for Halifax
Road deaths	5.3 /100k	12.7 /100k	−7.4 /100k — better for Halifax
Rule of law	82/100	74/100	+8/100 — better for Halifax
Corruption perceptions	75/100	64/100	+11/100 — better for Halifax
Air quality (PM2.5)	6.6 µg/m³	7.0 µg/m³	−0.4 µg/m³ — better for Halifax
Natural-hazard risk	2.6/10	3.3/10	−0.7/10 — better for Halifax

Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Country-level rows describe the two countries, not the cities themselves. Full report for Boston →

Nearby cities

See Halifax on the interactive map → · Safest cities in North America → · Full travel briefings →