Mataura Safety Snapshot

Is Mataura safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Mataura has a safety score of 23/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 23% of New Zealand suburbs, with 48.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #48 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland.

The annual total crime rate in Mataura is 48.4 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #48 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in March 2026, July 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 30.0%
  Theft accounts for 30.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 28.0%
  Burglary accounts for 28.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 21.0%
  Assault accounts for 21.0 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 Mataura ›

Mataura Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,650

Households

693

Median income

$65,298

Median rent

$241

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

321 (19.5%)

Age 15-64

1,032 (62.5%)

Age 65+

282 (17.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,488 (90.7%)

Born overseas

153 (9.3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,233 · 63.7%

Māori

537 · 27.8%

Pacific

78 · 4%

Asian

45 · 2.3%

MELAA

12 · 0.6%

Other

30 · 1.6%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,170 · 100%

Not owned

456 · 39.3%

Other

174 · 15%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

360 (17.9%)

Two families

9 (0.4%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,641 (81.6%)

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

FAQ

• Is Mataura a safe suburb to live in?

  Mataura has a safety score of 23/100, making it the #48 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. 73% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Mataura?

  The annual crime rate in Mataura is 48.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Waimumu-Kaiwera (Southland)
• Gore South (Southland)
• Gore West (Southland)