SafeSuburbs Logo SafeSuburbs

Papanui West Safety Snapshot

Canterbury, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Papanui West safe? About average. Papanui West has a safety score of 42/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 42% of New Zealand suburbs, with 38.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #172 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Papanui West is 38.4 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #172 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 November 2025, March 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
42 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
38.4
Regional rank #172 / 288 (Bottom 50%)
3-Month Trend
i
▼18.7%(improving)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Theft 62.3%
    Theft accounts for 62.3 percent of incidents.
  • Burglary 28.1%
    Burglary accounts for 28.1 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 7.0%
    Assault accounts for 7.0 percent of incidents.
  • Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 1.8%
    Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 1.8 percent of incidents.
  • Sexual Offences 0.9%
    Sexual Offences accounts for 0.9 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Papanui West ›

Papanui West Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,991

Households

1,137

Median income

$93,090

Median rent

$450

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
495 (16.5%)
Age 15-64
1,839 (61.5%)
Age 65+
609 (20.4%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
2,148 (72.5%)
Born overseas
816 (27.5%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
2,364 · 72.2%
Māori
276 · 8.4%
Pacific
81 · 2.5%
Asian
501 · 15.3%
MELAA
30 · 0.9%
Other
24 · 0.7%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
2,340 · 99.7%
Not owned
1,137 · 48.5%
Other
138 · 5.9%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
702 (20.8%)
Two families
33 (1%)
Three+ families
0 (0%)
Other composition
2,643 (78.2%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Papanui West a safe suburb to live in?

    Papanui West has a safety score of 42/100, making it the #172 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 90% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Papanui West?

    The annual crime rate in Papanui West is 38.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Papanui West

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs