Salzburg scores 82 out of 100 (very high safety) on World Safety Map, ranked 1657 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 Salzburg safe?

Austria · Europe · data updated 2026-09-04

81.9Very high · rank 1657 / 6,168
safer than 73% of ranked cities

Salzburg is a city in Austria, home to about 145k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 1,657 of 6,168, with a safety score of 81.9 out of 100 - among the safest cities in this dataset.

US 1/4 Exercise normal precautions

Emergency Ambulance or rescue 144 · Fire 122 · Police 133 · European emergency number 112

No official source names specific areas to avoid here: travel advisories for Austria are country-level, and no published dataset covers neighborhood-level crime - so this briefing does not invent it.

How safe is Salzburg really?

No published homicide figure exists for Salzburg itself, so the national rate stands in: Austria recorded 1.0 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 - well below the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Austria is also one of the more equal societies in the dataset (Gini 31.2), 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 Austria at level 1 of 4 - "Exercise normal precautions" (updated 2026-08-20). The UK Foreign Office publishes travel advice for Austria 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 Austria

Terrorism in Austria · Political demonstrations · Protecting your belongings · Drink spiking · Personal ID · Illegal drugs · Face-covering ban · Public transport · Skiing · Road travel · Motorway tolls

Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Austria — country-level, not specific to Salzburg. Read what each one says →

The numbers

Homicide rate: 1.0 /100knational rate, 2024
Conflict deaths: 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
Income inequality: Gini 31.2country, 2023
Human development: HDI 0.930country, 2023
Income: $77,010/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
Population: 145kurban centre · 4,253/km²

Country context for travelers

Road deaths: 4.9 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
Political stability: 74/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law: 86/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
Corruption perceptions: 69/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk: 2.5/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security: 0.90Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality: 10.0 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safely managed drinking water: 99%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity: 5.5 doctors /1k6.7 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards in Austria

Flood: 7.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake: 3.9/10EU 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 Austria as a whole, not Salzburg specifically.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Austria (as of 2025).

All country-level figures shared by every city in Austria; none of them affect the safety score.

How the score works

Low homicide40%72

Peace25%100

Equality25%75

Development10%93

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 Salzburg that gives 81.9/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →

Salzburg compared with Munich

The nearest ranked city of comparable size. Green favours Salzburg, red favours Munich.
Measure	Salzburg	Munich	Difference
Safety score	81.9	78.9	+3.0 — better for Salzburg
Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate	1.0 /100k	1.3 /100k	−0.3 /100k — better for Salzburg
Conflict deaths within 100 km	0	0	±0
Income inequality (Gini)	31.2	33.7	−2.5 — better for Salzburg
Human development (HDI)	0.930	0.959	−0.029 — better for Munich
Road deaths	4.9 /100k	3.8 /100k	+1.1 /100k — better for Munich
Rule of law	86/100	85/100	+1/100 — better for Salzburg
Corruption perceptions	69/100	77/100	−8/100 — better for Munich
Air quality (PM2.5)	10.0 µg/m³	8.8 µg/m³	+1.2 µg/m³ — better for Munich
Natural-hazard risk	2.5/10	2.4/10	+0.1/10 — better for Munich

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 Munich →

Nearby cities

See Salzburg on the interactive map → · Safest cities in Europe → · Full travel briefings →