Dobson Safety Snapshot

Is Dobson safe? Yes. Dobson has a safety score of 98/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 98% of New Zealand suburbs, with 11 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the safest of 26 ranked suburbs in West Coast.

The annual total crime rate in Dobson is 11 crimes per thousand residents, making it the safest of 26 ranked suburbs in West Coast Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in October 2025, June 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 4.0%
  Theft accounts for 4.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 3.0%
  Assault accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 3.0%
  Burglary accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Dobson ›

Dobson Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

909

Households

351

Median income

$73,524

Median rent

$228

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

153 (16.8%)

Age 15-64

558 (61.4%)

Age 65+

183 (20.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

834 (92.7%)

Born overseas

66 (7.3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

840 · 81.9%

Māori

117 · 11.4%

Pacific

3 · 0.3%

Asian

21 · 2%

MELAA

6 · 0.6%

Other

39 · 3.8%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

654 · 100%

Not owned

231 · 35.3%

Other

93 · 14.2%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

213 (20.3%)

Two families

9 (0.9%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

828 (78.9%)

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

FAQ

• Is Dobson a safe suburb to live in?

  Dobson has a safety score of 98/100, making it the safest of 26 ranked suburbs in West Coast Region. 70% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Dobson?

  The annual crime rate in Dobson is 11 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz