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Nelson Rural Safety Snapshot

Nelson, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Nelson Rural safe? About average. Nelson Rural has a safety score of 64/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 64% of New Zealand suburbs, with 13.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #12 safest of 23 ranked suburbs in Nelson.

The annual total crime rate in Nelson Rural is 13.7 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #12 safest of 23 ranked suburbs in Nelson Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in October 2025, January 2026, February 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
64 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
13.7
Regional rank #12 / 23 (Bottom 50%)
3-Month Trend
i
▼87.5%(improving)

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.
  • Theft 9.0%
    Theft accounts for 9.0 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 7.0%
    Assault accounts for 7.0 percent of incidents.
  • Sexual Offences 2.0%
    Sexual Offences accounts for 2.0 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Nelson Rural ›

Nelson Rural Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,986

Households

717

Median income

$94,586

Median rent

$382

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
327 (16.5%)
Age 15-64
1,302 (65.6%)
Age 65+
396 (19.9%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
1,440 (72.7%)
Born overseas
540 (27.3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
1,872 · 85.7%
Māori
189 · 8.7%
Pacific
24 · 1.1%
Asian
63 · 2.9%
MELAA
9 · 0.4%
Other
27 · 1.2%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
1,527 · 100%
Not owned
459 · 30.2%
Other
132 · 8.7%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
528 (25%)
Two families
21 (1%)
Three+ families
0 (0%)
Other composition
1,563 (74%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Nelson Rural a safe suburb to live in?

    Nelson Rural has a safety score of 64/100, making it the #12 safest of 23 ranked suburbs in Nelson Region. 67% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Nelson Rural?

    The annual crime rate in Nelson Rural is 13.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Nelson Rural

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

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