Safe Cities profile series: Key indicators by census metropolitan area
Regina, Saskatchewan

Satisfaction with safety

Regina 87%, Saskatchewan 89%, Canada 88%

proportion of people who reported being satisfied with their personal safety from crime in 2014

* significantly different from Regina (p < 0.05)

Police-reported violent crime rate in 2018

Regina 1,228, Saskatchewan 1,975, Canada 1,143

rate per 100,000 population

Ten-year change in police-reported crime rate (2008 to 2018)

Regina -14%, Saskatchewan -9%, Canada -17%

Population and demographics

Regina was home to 257,337 people in 2018, and it had a population density of 60 residents per square kilometre. Nearly one in three (31%) residents were aged 24 and younger, similar to the distribution in Saskatchewan (32%) and across Canada (28%).

One in ten (9.3%) Regina residents were part of the Indigenous population (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) in 2016, lower than Saskatchewan (16.3%) but twice as high as Canada (4.9%). Immigrants represented one in six (16%) residents, higher than Saskatchewan (11%) but lower than Canada (22%). More than two in five (44%) immigrants in Regina were recent immigrants (since 2011), on par with Saskatchewan (43%) but far higher than Canada (16%). Just under one in five (18%) Regina residents identified as a visible minority, higher than Saskatchewan (11%) but lower than the proportion in Canada overall (22%).

Education, employment and income

In 2016, just over six in ten (62.4%) Regina residents aged 25 to 64 had completed some form of postsecondary education, three in ten (29.5%) had completed high school (or equivalent) as their highest level of education, and just under one in ten (8.1%) had completed neither.

In 2018, the unemployment rate in Regina (6.0%) was close to Saskatchewan (6.1%) and Canada’s provinces (5.8%). Households in Regina earned a median after-tax annual income of $60,080 in 2017, higher than in Saskatchewan ($55,450) and Canada ($52,090). The percentage of families considered low-income was slightly lower in Regina (15%) than in Saskatchewan (18%) and Canada (17%).

Housing and families

On average, there were 2.4 persons per household in Regina in 2016, similar to Saskatchewan (2.5) and Canada (2.4). Most (70%) households in Regina owned their homes, similar to Saskatchewan (72%) and Canada (68%). When a household spends 30% or more of its income on shelter costs, it is considered to live in unaffordable housing: this was the case for just over one in five (22%) Regina households, similar to Saskatchewan (20%) and Canada (24%). A small proportion (7.1%) of occupied private dwellings in Regina were in need of major repairs, slightly lower than Saskatchewan (8.7%) but slightly higher than Canada (6.5%). About one-sixth (17%) of Regina families were lone-parent families, on par with Saskatchewan (16%) and Canada (16%). In 2018, there were an estimated 286 homeless individuals living in Regina.

Community safety and sense of belonging

• In 2014, over one in three (36%) Regina residents aged 15 and older were very satisfied with their personal safety from crime, on par with Saskatchewan residents (37%) and Canadians living in the provinces overall (38%).
• Close to half (47%) of Regina residents felt very safe when walking alone after dark, significantly lower than in Saskatchewan (56%) but not significantly different from Canada’s provinces (52%).
  • A smaller proportion of women who lived in Regina felt very safe when walking alone after dark compared with men (41% versus 52%); however, unlike in Saskatchewan and Canada’s provinces, this difference was not significant.
• About one in four (23%) Regina residents thought social disorder was a big or moderate problem in their neighbourhood, on par with Saskatchewan (22%) and Canada’s provinces (22%).
• One in six (17%) Regina residents said they had a very strong sense of belonging to their community, significantly lower than in Saskatchewan (26%) and Canada’s provinces (25%).
• Over a six-year period (2009 to 2014), 16% of Regina residents experienced discrimination, similar to Saskatchewan (15%) and Canada’s provinces (13%).
• About 15% of Regina residents said they knew most people in their neighbourhood in 2014, significantly lower than in Saskatchewan (31%) and Canada’s provinces (21%).
• The large majority (69%) of Regina residents thought crime levels in their neighbourhood were lower than the rest of Canada, significantly lower than in Saskatchewan (75%) but not significantly different from Canada’s provinces (74%).
• The vast majority (92%) of Regina residents reported having confidence in police in 2014, which was similar to the proportion in Saskatchewan (90%) and Canada’s provinces (91%).

Self-reported experiences of victimization

• In 2018, 6.4% of Regina residents aged 15 and older were victims of a self-reported physical or sexual assault, which was not significantly different from Saskatchewan (5.0%) but was significantly higher than Canada’s provinces (4.4%).
• More than one in four (27%) Regina residents experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in public, which was significantly higher than Saskatchewan (23%) and Canada’s provinces (23%).
  • In Regina, women were significantly more likely to experience unwanted sexual behaviour in public than men (38% versus 15%).
  • Of those who experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in public, a small proportion (2.9%) of Regina residents said the most serious incident took place on public transit, similar to Saskatchewan (2.6%) but significantly lower than Canada’s provinces (11.5%).
    • For reference, in 2016, the use of public transit as a main mode of commuting was higher in Regina (5.1%) than in Saskatchewan (2.9%) but it was far lower than Canada overall (12.4%).
  • Of those who experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in public in 2018, nearly half (45%) of Regina residents changed their behaviour while in public as a result, on par with Saskatchewan (46%) and Canada’s provinces (50%).

Property crime

• Police-reported: There were 5,984 property crimes per 100,000 population reported by police in Regina in 2018, 7% lower than in Saskatchewan (6,437) but 79% higher than Canada (3,339).
• Self-reported: There were 241 property crimes per 1,000 Regina households reported in 2014 (includes breaking and entering, theft of motor vehicle or parts, theft of household property and vandalism), which was not significantly different from Saskatchewan (183) but was significantly higher than Canada’s provinces (143).

Hate crime

• The police-reported hate crime rate—which depends on police services' level of expertise in identifying crimes motivated by hate—was slightly lower in Regina (1.9 incidents per 100,000 population) than in Saskatchewan (2.6) but far lower than Canada (4.9) in 2018.
• Between 2014 and 2018, the rate of police-reported hate crime in Regina increased from 0.8 to 1.9 per 100,000 population (+132%), an increase similar to Saskatchewan (+123%) but far larger than Canada (+33%).

Intimate partner violence

• There were 477 victims of intimate partner violence per 100,000 population aged 15 and older reported by police in Regina in 2018, 27% lower than Saskatchewan (657) but 48% higher than Canada (323).
• The large majority (82%) of victims of police-reported intimate partner violence in Regina were female, similar to Saskatchewan (80%) and Canada (79%).
• Same-sex partners accounted for 2.2% of police-reported intimate partner violence in Regina between 2009 and 2018, close to Saskatchewan (2.6%) but lower than Canada (3.4%).

Homicide

• In 2018, Regina had 8 homicides—a rate of 3.10 per 100,000 population—slightly higher than Saskatchewan (2.93) and nearly twice as high in Canada (1.76).
• Of the 8 homicide victims in Regina, 1 was female (13%). Meanwhile, 21% of homicide victims in Saskatchewan and 25% of homicide victims in Canada were female.
• The number of homicides in Regina remained the same with 8 victims in 2008 and 8 victims in 2018.

Charts and tables

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Note: This fact sheet contains data that come from multiple sources across multiple reference years. Some figures may be presented differently than in other Statistics Canada publications due to rounding. For detailed information on data definitions and sources, please refer to the Safe Cities profile series: Definitions and data sources document.