Fernhill Safety Snapshot

Is Fernhill safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Fernhill has a safety score of 12/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 12% of New Zealand suburbs, with 46.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #114 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago.

The annual total crime rate in Fernhill is 46.8 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #114 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago Region. The overall crime trend in the area has remained the same in recent months with criminal activity peaking in January 2026, February 2026, May 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 37.0%
  Theft accounts for 37.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 28.0%
  Burglary accounts for 28.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 8.0%
  Assault accounts for 8.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 3.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 3.0 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 Fernhill ›

Fernhill Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,653

Households

681

Median income

$68,248

Median rent

$344

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

126 (7.6%)

Age 15-64

1,290 (78%)

Age 65+

240 (14.5%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,065 (65.9%)

Born overseas

552 (34.1%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,173 · 62.5%

Māori

210 · 11.2%

Pacific

87 · 4.6%

Asian

333 · 17.7%

MELAA

57 · 3%

Other

18 · 1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,413 · 99.8%

Not owned

1,101 · 77.8%

Other

117 · 8.3%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

294 (14.6%)

Two families

0 (0%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,719 (85.4%)

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

FAQ

• Is Fernhill a safe suburb to live in?

  Fernhill has a safety score of 12/100, making it the #114 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago Region. 84% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Fernhill?

  The annual crime rate in Fernhill is 46.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Mornington (Otago)
• Arthur Street (Otago)
• Dunedin Central (Otago)
• Hillside-Portsmouth Drive (Otago)
• Belleknowes (Otago)
• South Dunedin (Otago)
• Maryhill (Otago)
• Caversham (Otago)
• Forbury (Otago)
• Royal Terrace (Otago)