Guides · 2026-10-24
Areas to avoid in Nottingham? How to read the crime figures fairly
Searching for areas to avoid in Nottingham turns up a lot of opinion. Here are the official recorded crime figures for the city's main areas, and why figures for the centre and the areas next to it run high.
Search for areas to avoid in Nottingham and you get forum threads, old news stories and a lot of strong opinions. We would rather show the official figures and explain what they can and cannot tell you, so you can make up your own mind.
Recorded crime across the city
None of these figures marks an area to avoid. Each one covers between about 70,000 and 170,000 residents over roughly 3 km, so it blends very different streets together.
| Area | Crime and anti-social behaviour per 1,000 residents a year | Residents in the neighbourhoods measured |
|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | 204 | 168,938 |
| Sneinton | 194 | 145,336 |
| Sherwood | 135 | 158,899 |
| Aspley | 129 | 139,831 |
| Mapperley | 126 | 150,526 |
| Bulwell | 122 | 74,929 |
| Bestwood | 120 | 109,582 |
| Wollaton | 113 | 96,676 |
| Bilborough | 95 | 70,456 |
For context, the City of Nottingham as a whole recorded 159.7 reports per 1,000 residents over the same 12 months, against 96.3 across the 280 English council areas with full police data.
Why the centre looks worst on these figures
- These are reports divided by the people who live there. A city centre has shops, bars and the station, so far more people pass through than live there. Crimes against everyone are counted, but they are divided only by residents, so the rate per resident runs high.
- Each area is measured over the neighbourhoods within about 3 km of its centre. Sneinton's centre is only about 1.4 km from Nottingham's, so its figure (194) takes in a lot of the city centre too, and says little about Sneinton's own residential streets.
- Further out, the figures drop. Bilborough (95) is roughly in line with the England rate, and Wollaton (113) is well below the city average.
- A figure for an area of more than 100,000 people hides big differences street by street. It is a starting point, not a verdict.
What to do instead of avoiding a whole area
- Look up the exact street on police.uk, which maps reports month by month.
- Visit at the times you would be coming and going, including after dark.
- Weigh crime against the things you need: schools, buses, a GP and parks often matter just as much day to day.
In PlaceFit, low crime is one of the priorities you choose, and you set how much it matters against everything else.
Nottingham in full · Wollaton · Bilborough · Crime and flood risk around Sherwood · How PlaceFit measures places
Area figures as published on PlaceFit's area pages on 22 October 2026: police.uk street-level crime and anti-social behaviour, September 2025 to August 2026, in the 2021 neighbourhoods (LSOAs) centred within about 3 km, divided by their Census 2021 residents. City and England rates from PlaceFit's England council crime and prices table (police.uk, ONS mid-2025 population). Distance between centres from PlaceFit's place directory. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.