Leeston Safety Snapshot

Is Leeston safe? Yes. Leeston has a safety score of 95/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 95% of New Zealand suburbs, with 9.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #23 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Leeston is 9.3 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #23 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, May 2026, July 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Assault 7.0%
  Assault accounts for 7.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 7.0%
  Burglary accounts for 7.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 5.0%
  Theft accounts for 5.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 1.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 1.0 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 Leeston ›

Leeston Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,271

Households

879

Median income

$93,107

Median rent

$422

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

489 (21.5%)

Age 15-64

1,347 (59.3%)

Age 65+

435 (19.2%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,863 (82.4%)

Born overseas

399 (17.6%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

2,070 · 81.9%

Māori

276 · 10.9%

Pacific

39 · 1.5%

Asian

81 · 3.2%

MELAA

21 · 0.8%

Other

39 · 1.5%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,716 · 99.8%

Not owned

525 · 30.5%

Other

78 · 4.5%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

624 (24.2%)

Two families

15 (0.6%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,944 (75.3%)

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

FAQ

• Is Leeston a safe suburb to live in?

  Leeston has a safety score of 95/100, making it the #23 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 57% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Leeston?

  The annual crime rate in Leeston is 9.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Irwell (Canterbury)
• Southbridge (Canterbury)