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Fernside Safety Snapshot

Canterbury, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Fernside safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Fernside has a safety score of 30/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 30% of New Zealand suburbs, with 40.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #201 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Fernside is 40.7 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #201 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in February 2026, April 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
30 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
40.7
Regional rank #201 / 288 (Bottom 50%)
3-Month Trend
i
▲28.6%(worsening)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Theft 34.0%
    Theft accounts for 34.0 percent of incidents.
  • Burglary 13.0%
    Burglary accounts for 13.0 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 6.0%
    Assault accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
  • Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 2.0%
    Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 2.0 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Fernside ›

Fernside Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,377

Households

465

Median income

$119,686

Median rent

$391

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
240 (17.4%)
Age 15-64
918 (66.7%)
Age 65+
216 (15.7%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
1,209 (88.2%)
Born overseas
162 (11.8%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
1,296 · 86.7%
Māori
135 · 9%
Pacific
3 · 0.2%
Asian
33 · 2.2%
MELAA
3 · 0.2%
Other
24 · 1.6%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
1,065 · 100%
Not owned
372 · 34.9%
Other
66 · 6.2%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
363 (26.5%)
Two families
12 (0.9%)
Three+ families
0 (0%)
Other composition
993 (72.6%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Fernside a safe suburb to live in?

    Fernside has a safety score of 30/100, making it the #201 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 85% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Fernside?

    The annual crime rate in Fernside is 40.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Fernside

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs