Lower Waitaki Safety Snapshot

Is Lower Waitaki safe? Yes. Lower Waitaki has a safety score of 94/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 94% of New Zealand suburbs, with 12.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #18 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago.

The annual total crime rate in Lower Waitaki is 12.3 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #18 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 April 2026, May 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 9.0%
  Burglary accounts for 9.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 6.0%
  Assault accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 4.0%
  Theft accounts for 4.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Lower Waitaki ›

Lower Waitaki Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,575

Households

594

Median income

$94,834

Median rent

$258

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

327 (20.8%)

Age 15-64

984 (62.5%)

Age 65+

273 (17.3%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,305 (83.2%)

Born overseas

264 (16.8%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,380 · 81.9%

Māori

105 · 6.2%

Pacific

24 · 1.4%

Asian

129 · 7.7%

MELAA

9 · 0.5%

Other

39 · 2.3%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,158 · 99.7%

Not owned

387 · 33.3%

Other

84 · 7.2%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

423 (24.2%)

Two families

12 (0.7%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,314 (75.1%)

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

FAQ

• Is Lower Waitaki a safe suburb to live in?

  Lower Waitaki has a safety score of 94/100, making it the #18 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago Region. 68% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Lower Waitaki?

  The annual crime rate in Lower Waitaki is 12.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Oamaru North Milner Park (Otago)
• Oamaru North Orana Park (Otago)