Charleston (Buller District) Safety Snapshot

Is Charleston (Buller District) safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Charleston (Buller District) has a safety score of 35/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 35% of New Zealand suburbs, with 38.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #20 safest of 26 ranked suburbs in West Coast.

The annual total crime rate in Charleston (Buller District) is 38.8 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #20 safest of 26 ranked suburbs in West Coast Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in December 2025, March 2026, May 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 17.0%
  Burglary accounts for 17.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 7.0%
  Theft accounts for 7.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 1.0%
  Assault accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Charleston (Buller District) ›

Charleston (Buller District) Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

672

Households

327

Median income

$63,675

Median rent

$222

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

96 (14.3%)

Age 15-64

381 (56.7%)

Age 65+

183 (27.2%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

543 (81.2%)

Born overseas

126 (18.8%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

612 · 82.9%

Māori

84 · 11.4%

Pacific

0 · 0%

Asian

24 · 3.3%

MELAA

6 · 0.8%

Other

12 · 1.6%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

516 · 100%

Not owned

138 · 26.9%

Other

60 · 11.7%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

180 (19.4%)

Two families

0 (0%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

747 (80.6%)

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

FAQ

• Is Charleston (Buller District) a safe suburb to live in?

  Charleston (Buller District) has a safety score of 35/100, making it the #20 safest of 26 ranked suburbs in West Coast Region. 96% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Charleston (Buller District)?

  The annual crime rate in Charleston (Buller District) is 38.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz