Merivale Safety Snapshot

Is Merivale safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Merivale has a safety score of 12/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 12% of New Zealand suburbs, with 111.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #249 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Merivale is 111.9 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #249 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in March 2026, May 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 84.0%
  Theft accounts for 84.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 11.7%
  Burglary accounts for 11.7 percent of incidents.
• Assault 3.4%
  Assault accounts for 3.4 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 0.6%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 0.6 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 0.3%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 0.3 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Merivale ›

Merivale Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

3,135

Households

1,380

Median income

$100,801

Median rent

$454

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

435 (13.9%)

Age 15-64

2,052 (65.5%)

Age 65+

627 (20%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

2,172 (70%)

Born overseas

933 (30%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

2,580 · 77.1%

Māori

162 · 4.8%

Pacific

48 · 1.4%

Asian

468 · 14%

MELAA

54 · 1.6%

Other

33 · 1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

2,574 · 100%

Not owned

1,368 · 53.3%

Other

138 · 5.4%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

795 (19.4%)

Two families

15 (0.4%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

3,297 (80.3%)

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

FAQ

• Is Merivale a safe suburb to live in?

  Merivale has a safety score of 12/100, making it the #249 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 96% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Merivale?

  The annual crime rate in Merivale is 111.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• St Albans West (Canterbury)
• Holmwood (Canterbury)
• Rutland (Canterbury)
• Strowan (Canterbury)
• St Albans East (Canterbury)
• Mona Vale (Canterbury)
• Hagley Park (Canterbury)
• Christchurch Central-West (Canterbury)
• St Albans North (Canterbury)
• Malvern (Canterbury)