West Yorkshire named home burglary capital of England and Wales

 Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), covering the full calendar year to December 2025, show West Yorkshire recorded 10.6 residential burglaries per 1,000 households, the highest rate of any police force area in England and Wales.

 Cleveland was close behind at 10.4 per 1,000 households, followed by South Yorkshire at 10.1, meaning all three of the top-ranked areas sit within the same corner of northern England.

 The data, which was analysed by SJL, reveals a striking concentration of burglary risk across Yorkshire and the North East. West Yorkshire, Cleveland, South Yorkshire and Humberside all feature in the top six most-burgled areas by household rate, with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands also among the worst-affected.

 Greater London, covered by the Metropolitan Police, recorded the highest volume of residential break-ins, 32,610 offences in 2025, though its rate of 9.5 per 1,000 households places it fourth.

 Nationally, police recorded 154,161 residential burglaries across England and Wales in the 12 months to December 2025, a 12% fall on the previous year. The Crime Survey for England and Wales, which captures crimes not reported to police, estimates the true total at around 327,000 domestic burglaries.

Police Force Area: West Yorkshire

Residential Burglaries: 10,340

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 10.6

1 in Every X Homes: 94

Police Force Area: Cleveland

Residential Burglaries: 2,559

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 10.4

1 in Every X Homes: 96

Police Force Area: South Yorkshire

Residential Burglaries: 5,950

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 10.1

1 in Every X Homes: 99

Police Force Area: Metropolitan Police (London)

Residential Burglaries: 32,610

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 9.5

1 in Every X Homes: 105

Police Force Area: West Midlands

Residential Burglaries: 10,259

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 9.1

1 in Every X Homes: 110

Police Force Area: Humberside

Residential Burglaries: 3,368

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 8.2

1 in Every X Homes: 122

Police Force Area: Greater Manchester

Residential Burglaries: 8,668

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 7.4

1 in Every X Homes: 135

Police Force Area: Northumbria

Residential Burglaries: 4,520

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 7.0

1 in Every X homes: 143

Police Force Area: Durham

Residential Burglaries: 1,952

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 6.9

1 in Every X Homes: 145

Police Force Area: Leicestershire

Residential Burglaries: 2,859

Rate Per 1,000 Households: 6.5

1 in Every X Homes: 154

 Speaking on the findings, Craig Morgan, Insurance expert at SJL Insurance Services said the figures exposed a stark postcode divide that many homeowners remain unaware of.

"While the headline national figures show burglary is falling, that comfort disappears very quickly when you look at the data by area. In West Yorkshire, Cleveland and South Yorkshire, roughly one in every 95 to 99 homes was broken into last year, that is not a remote risk, that is a near-certainty over a few years of living in those areas.

"What concerns us most from an insurance perspective is that people in these hotspots often don't realise their exposure until it's too late. Whether it's underinsured contents, high-value items that aren't properly specified, or simply not knowing what their policy requires them to do, the break-in itself is often just the start of the problem."

Craig added that the North of England's concentration of high-risk areas should prompt homeowners to take stock.

"The Yorkshire and North East triangle that emerges from this data is striking. If you live or own property in these areas, now is the time to check your cover is up to date, not after a break-in."

Despite the 12% fall in police-recorded residential burglaries in 2025, the ONS data shows the improvement has not been felt equally across England and Wales. Forces in the north of England continue to record rates significantly above the national picture, while rural forces in the south and south-west record rates several times lower.