Safest Areas in the West Midlands 2026: Where Recorded Crime Is Lowest
West Midlands areas with the lowest recorded crime per resident in the year to June 2026, the lowest in every borough and district, and what the figures miss.
Ask where the safest areas in the West Midlands are and most people picture a leafy suburb of Birmingham or Solihull. The figures point somewhere else. All ten areas with the lowest recorded crime per resident are outside the conurbation, in the shire counties, and most of them are rural wards where homes sell for £400,000 or more.
That is useful to know, but it is not a shortlist. Below you will find the region-wide top 10, the lowest-crime area in every borough and district, and a set of lower-crime places where the median sale price is £250,000 or less. Every area links to its full report.
Crime varies street by street. See safer areas that still fit your budget and commute.
The quick answer
- Stottesdon, Kinlet & Hopton Wafers in south-east Shropshire had the lowest rate: 18.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents, excluding anti-social behaviour. Homes there sold for a median of £567,500.
- Newport East in Telford and Wrekin matched it at 18.8 and is the standout on price, with a median sale of £223,000.
- Radbrook in Shrewsbury and Baswich in Stafford are the only top-10 areas with more than 5,000 residents. They are suburbs rather than villages, with medians of £322,000 and £275,000.
- In the West Midlands conurbation, Streetly in Walsall comes highest, 31st in the region. Birmingham’s lowest, Sutton Roughley, is 100th.
- The West Midlands as a whole recorded 86.1 crimes per 1,000 residents on the same basis. Even the lowest-crime area in Sandwell, at 61.3, is well below that.
The 10 areas with the lowest recorded crime
The chart ranks West Midlands areas with at least 2,000 residents by recorded crime per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to June 2026, leaving out anti-social behaviour. The top 10 are separated by less than 3 crimes per 1,000, so the order within it matters much less than the gap to the regional rate of 86.1.
Most of the ten are spread-out rural wards in the West Mercia police area. Radbrook, Baswich and Radford Semele, on the edge of Leamington Spa, are the exceptions that put a lower-crime area within reach of a town’s schools, shops and stations.
Lowest recorded crime in the West Midlands, per 1,000 residents (excluding anti-social behaviour), July 2025 to June 2026
| Rank | Area | Local authority | Crime excl. ASB per 1,000 | Crime and ASB per 1,000 | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stottesdon, Kinlet & Hopton Wafers | Shropshire | 18.8 | 20.9 | £567,500 |
| 2 | Newport East | Telford and Wrekin | 18.8 | 22.8 | £223,000 |
| 3 | Longdon | Malvern Hills | 19.0 | 20.4 | £515,000 |
| 4 | Birch | Herefordshire | 19.0 | 20.7 | £462,500 |
| 5 | Radbrook | Shropshire | 19.6 | 22.8 | £322,000 |
| 6 | Radford Semele | Warwick | 20.1 | 24.0 | £408,000 |
| 7 | Lindridge | Malvern Hills | 20.6 | 27.0 | £427,500 |
| 8 | Queenswood | Herefordshire | 21.0 | 26.6 | £368,000 |
| 9 | Baswich | Stafford | 21.3 | 25.5 | £275,000 |
| 10 | Golden Valley South | Herefordshire | 21.5 | 22.5 | £515,000 |
In the smallest villages only a handful of homes sell each year, so their prices can swing a long way. Treat them as a rough guide and check recent sales on the streets you are considering.
This is a useful starting point, but the best match depends on your budget, commute and what you value most.
Add your budget, commute and family needs to compare realistic West Midlands options, not just the regional average.
The lowest-crime area in each borough and district
A region-wide list is little use if your job, family or school places tie you to one part of the West Midlands. These tables give the area with the lowest recorded crime in each local authority, with its position among the 726 areas ranked.
Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Solihull
| Local authority | Lowest-crime area | Rank of 726 | Crime excl. ASB per 1,000 | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walsall | Streetly | 31 | 24.5 | £348,000 |
| Birmingham | Sutton Roughley | 100 | 32.9 | £403,500 |
| Dudley | Norton | 120 | 35.2 | £324,625 |
| Solihull | Dorridge and Hockley Heath | 127 | 35.7 | £497,500 |
| Wolverhampton | Penn | 216 | 45.4 | £292,200 |
| Coventry | Wainbody | 225 | 46.9 | £332,500 |
| Sandwell | Great Barr with Yew Tree East | 352 | 61.3 | £305,000 |
Most of the conurbation’s lowest-crime areas sit on its outer edges. They also come with conurbation prices: Dorridge and Hockley Heath’s median of £497,500 is almost £150,000 above Streetly’s, for a slightly higher crime rate. If you are comparing parts of Birmingham, the Birmingham crime map guide covers every ward in the city, and the Birmingham area hub lists every report.
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
| Local authority | Lowest-crime area | Rank of 726 | Crime excl. ASB per 1,000 | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford | Baswich | 9 | 21.3 | £275,000 |
| East Staffordshire | Blythe | 21 | 23.3 | £385,000 |
| Tamworth | Trinity | 24 | 23.5 | £275,000 |
| South Staffordshire | Perton East | 34 | 24.9 | £260,000 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | Loggerheads | 36 | 25.1 | £345,000 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | Biddulph North | 39 | 26.1 | £240,000 |
| Lichfield | Highfield | 58 | 28.2 | £372,000 |
| Cannock Chase | Heath Hayes & Wimblebury | 175 | 40.2 | £215,000 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | Lightwood North & Normacot | 252 | 49.1 | £222,800 |
Warwickshire
| Local authority | Lowest-crime area | Rank of 726 | Crime excl. ASB per 1,000 | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warwick | Radford Semele | 6 | 20.1 | £408,000 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | Bidford West | 16 | 22.6 | £355,500 |
| Rugby | Paddox | 74 | 29.5 | £299,000 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | Whitestone | 95 | 32.1 | £302,500 |
| North Warwickshire | Kingsbury | 133 | 36.5 | £272,500 |
Worcestershire
| Local authority | Lowest-crime area | Rank of 726 | Crime excl. ASB per 1,000 | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malvern Hills | Longdon | 3 | 19.0 | £515,000 |
| Bromsgrove | Cofton | 13 | 22.2 | £412,500 |
| Wychavon | Fladbury | 25 | 23.5 | £492,000 |
| Worcester | St. Clement | 62 | 28.9 | £280,000 |
| Redditch | Webheath & Callow Hill | 69 | 29.2 | £330,000 |
| Wyre Forest | Lickhill | 91 | 31.2 | £275,000 |
Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, and Herefordshire
| Local authority | Lowest-crime area | Rank of 726 | Crime excl. ASB per 1,000 | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shropshire | Stottesdon, Kinlet & Hopton Wafers | 1 | 18.8 | £567,500 |
| Telford and Wrekin | Newport East | 2 | 18.8 | £223,000 |
| Herefordshire | Birch | 4 | 19.0 | £462,500 |
Browse every report in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Herefordshire.
Lower crime without the highest prices
If £400,000-plus is out of reach, the lower-crime list still has plenty in it. These areas are all in the quarter of the region with the lowest recorded crime (40.8 per 1,000 or less) and had a median sale price of £250,000 or less.
| Area | Local authority | Rank of 726 | Crime excl. ASB per 1,000 | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biddulph North | Staffordshire Moorlands | 39 | 26.1 | £240,000 |
| Werrington | Staffordshire Moorlands | 65 | 28.9 | £236,250 |
| Westbury Park & Northwood | Newcastle-under-Lyme | 75 | 29.6 | £250,000 |
| Cheddleton | Staffordshire Moorlands | 89 | 31.2 | £235,000 |
| Market Drayton North | Shropshire | 103 | 33.1 | £247,500 |
| Stretton | East Staffordshire | 107 | 33.8 | £236,000 |
| Cleobury Mortimer | Shropshire | 112 | 34.4 | £250,000 |
| Newchapel & Mow Cop | Newcastle-under-Lyme | 132 | 36.1 | £245,000 |
| Oswestry North East | Shropshire | 134 | 36.6 | £195,000 |
| Polesworth West | North Warwickshire | 136 | 36.8 | £241,000 |
| Bobblestock | Herefordshire | 137 | 36.9 | £205,000 |
| Armitage with Handsacre | Lichfield | 138 | 37.0 | £238,000 |
| Leek West | Staffordshire Moorlands | 142 | 37.1 | £237,750 |
| Heath Hayes & Wimblebury | Cannock Chase | 175 | 40.2 | £215,000 |
| Littleworth | Stafford | 176 | 40.4 | £222,500 |
Staffordshire Moorlands appears four times, and Oswestry North East and Bobblestock, on the edge of Hereford, have the lowest prices on the list. Newport East would top it on crime, but too few homes sell there for a reliable price, so we have left it out. A lower median can reflect smaller or older homes as much as a cheaper area, so compare what is actually for sale at your budget.
A low recorded-crime rate can earn an area a place on your longlist. The home, the routes you would use and what you can afford decide whether it belongs on your shortlist.
How to read this ranking
Anti-social behaviour is left out on purpose. The West Midlands is policed by four forces, and they record anti-social behaviour very differently: about 4 incidents per 1,000 residents in the West Midlands Police area, 8 in West Mercia, 11 in Staffordshire and 13 in Warwickshire. Including it would push conurbation areas up the ranking for a reason that has nothing to do with the streets. The figure including it, as shown on each area report, is in the top-10 table.
Rates are per resident, and crimes are recorded where they happen. A town centre, retail park or busy station adds incidents but few residents, so central areas look worse than the homes around them. That cuts the other way too: the lowest rates belong to places with few shops, stations or nightlife, which is part of why they are quiet.
Small places move more. The ranking leaves out the 47 areas with fewer than 2,000 residents. Even above that, a village of 3,000 people with 60 recorded crimes in a year can rise or fall several places on a handful of incidents.
A low rate is not a guarantee. Two areas with similar totals can have different mixes. Alum Rock in Birmingham, for example, records close to England’s overall rate once anti-social behaviour is included, but more violence and vehicle crime than average; its area report shows how that breaks down.
What to check before you move
- Look at the street, not the ward. police.uk maps recorded crime month by month, so you can see whether incidents cluster near the home you are considering.
- Walk your real routes at the times you would use them. The school run, the walk from the station and the route to the shops tell you more than a ward total.
- Ask what the quiet costs you. Many of the lowest-crime areas depend on a car for school, work and shopping. Check the journeys before you count the low rate as a win.
- Compare at least two alternatives. Use the tables above to find a nearby area with a similar rate and a different price, then compare their reports side by side.
If you want a fuller method for judging an area, the guide to telling an area’s reputation from its evidence and how to compare safer places properly walk through it step by step.
FAQs
Where is the safest place to live in the West Midlands?
On recorded crime per resident, Stottesdon, Kinlet & Hopton Wafers in Shropshire and Newport East in Telford and Wrekin had the lowest rates in the year to June 2026, both at 18.8 per 1,000 excluding anti-social behaviour. The top 10 is closely bunched, so treat it as a group of very low-crime areas rather than a strict order.
What is the safest area in Birmingham?
Sutton Roughley had the lowest recorded crime of Birmingham’s areas, at 32.9 per 1,000 excluding anti-social behaviour, 100th of the 726 West Midlands areas ranked. Its median sale price was £403,500.
Are the safest areas in the West Midlands expensive?
Many are. Seven of the top 10 had a median sale price above £350,000. But plenty of lower-crime areas are cheaper: Biddulph North, Stretton and Armitage with Handsacre all sit in the lowest-crime quarter of the region with medians under £250,000.
Is the West Midlands a high-crime region?
The region recorded 86.1 crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to June 2026, excluding anti-social behaviour, against 78.0 for England. The regional figure hides very wide differences, from under 20 per 1,000 in parts of Shropshire and Herefordshire to several hundred in central Birmingham.
Compare West Midlands areas using the budget, commute and family routine you will actually live.
Methodology & Sources
We ranked the 726 West Midlands neighbourhoods with at least 2,000 residents by police.uk recorded crime, excluding anti-social behaviour, per 1,000 residents over the 12 months from July 2025 to June 2026. Neighbourhoods follow electoral wards, and residents are from the 2021 Census. The 47 areas with fewer than 2,000 residents were left out because a few incidents can move their rate a long way. All four forces published every month of the period.
The West Midlands and England benchmarks use the same measure. Prices are the median of standard HM Land Registry sales over the same 12 months; the most recent months may be incomplete because of registration delays. Each area’s report shows recorded crime including anti-social behaviour, as in the top-10 table.
Recorded crime reflects what is reported to and recorded by the police, not every incident or how safe a street feels. Use the ranking to decide where to look, then check the streets, routes and homes themselves.