Otangarei Safety Snapshot

Is Otangarei safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Otangarei has a safety score of 11/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 11% of New Zealand suburbs, with 48.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #88 safest of 97 ranked suburbs in Northland.

The annual total crime rate in Otangarei is 48.1 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #88 safest of 97 ranked suburbs in Northland Region. The overall crime trend in the area has remained the same in recent months with criminal activity peaking in September 2025, January 2026, March 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 39.3%
  Theft accounts for 39.3 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 35.5%
  Burglary accounts for 35.5 percent of incidents.
• Assault 18.7%
  Assault accounts for 18.7 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 4.7%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 4.7 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 0.9%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 0.9 percent of incidents.
• Harm Or Endanger Persons 0.9%
  Harm Or Endanger Persons accounts for 0.9 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Otangarei ›

Otangarei Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,214

Households

579

Median income

$61,489

Median rent

$234

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

648 (29.3%)

Age 15-64

1,335 (60.3%)

Age 65+

225 (10.2%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

2,028 (94.4%)

Born overseas

120 (5.6%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

744 · 26.7%

Māori

1,728 · 62%

Pacific

228 · 8.2%

Asian

60 · 2.2%

MELAA

6 · 0.2%

Other

21 · 0.8%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,287 · 99.5%

Not owned

1,065 · 82.4%

Other

282 · 21.8%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

288 (17.2%)

Two families

39 (2.3%)

Three+ families

6 (0.4%)

Other composition

1,338 (80.1%)

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

FAQ

• Is Otangarei a safe suburb to live in?

  Otangarei has a safety score of 11/100, making it the #88 safest of 97 ranked suburbs in Northland Region. 75% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Otangarei?

  The annual crime rate in Otangarei is 48.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Tikipunga South (Northland)
• Mairtown (Northland)
• Tikipunga North (Northland)
• Kamo Central (Northland)
• Kensington (Whangarei District) (Northland)
• Kamo East (Northland)
• Whau Valley (Northland)
• Kamo West (Northland)
• Granfield Reserve (Northland)
• Whangārei Central (Northland)