Bluff Safety Snapshot

Is Bluff safe? Yes. Bluff has a safety score of 81/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 81% of New Zealand suburbs, with 15.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #14 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland.

The annual total crime rate in Bluff is 15.2 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #14 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in December 2025, June 2026, July 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 11.0%
  Theft accounts for 11.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 9.0%
  Burglary accounts for 9.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 6.0%
  Assault accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 1.0%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Bluff ›

Bluff Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,797

Households

813

Median income

$66,570

Median rent

$275

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

267 (14.9%)

Age 15-64

1,095 (60.9%)

Age 65+

435 (24.2%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,644 (92.6%)

Born overseas

132 (7.4%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,401 · 58.3%

Māori

825 · 34.3%

Pacific

123 · 5.1%

Asian

30 · 1.2%

MELAA

0 · 0%

Other

24 · 1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,371 · 100%

Not owned

462 · 33.7%

Other

171 · 12.5%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

468 (19.4%)

Two families

12 (0.5%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,929 (80.1%)

Demographic data sourced from Stats NZ , licensed under CC BY 4.0

FAQ

• Is Bluff a safe suburb to live in?

  Bluff has a safety score of 81/100, making it the #14 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. 74% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Bluff?

  The annual crime rate in Bluff is 15.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Inlet Bluff Harbour (Southland)
• Woodend-Greenhills (Southland)