Paparua Safety Snapshot

Is Paparua safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Paparua has a safety score of 2/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 2% of New Zealand suburbs, with 167.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #285 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Paparua is 167.6 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #285 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. The overall crime trend in the area has remained the same in recent months with criminal activity peaking in December 2025, January 2026, March 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Assault 79.1%
  Assault accounts for 79.1 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 7.6%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 7.6 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 6.4%
  Burglary accounts for 6.4 percent of incidents.
• Theft 6.4%
  Theft accounts for 6.4 percent of incidents.
• Harm Or Endanger Persons 0.6%
  Harm Or Endanger Persons accounts for 0.6 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Paparua ›

Paparua Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,038

Households

108

Median income

$119,503

Median rent

$421

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

48 (4.6%)

Age 15-64

927 (89.3%)

Age 65+

75 (7.2%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

897 (88.2%)

Born overseas

120 (11.8%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

738 · 59.3%

Māori

351 · 28.2%

Pacific

69 · 5.5%

Asian

54 · 4.3%

MELAA

15 · 1.2%

Other

18 · 1.4%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

906 · 99.3%

Not owned

777 · 85.2%

Other

78 · 8.6%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

78 (24.1%)

Two families

6 (1.9%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

240 (74.1%)

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

FAQ

• Is Paparua a safe suburb to live in?

  Paparua has a safety score of 2/100, making it the #285 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. Property crime is 13% of recorded crime; the rest is offences against people and other categories.

• What is the crime rate in Paparua?

  The annual crime rate in Paparua is 167.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Templeton (Canterbury)
• Islington (Canterbury)
• Yaldhurst (Canterbury)
• Islington-Hornby Industrial (Canterbury)
• Hornby West (Canterbury)
• Hei Hei (Canterbury)
• Broomfield (Canterbury)
• Hornby Central (Canterbury)
• Hornby South (Canterbury)
• Branston (Canterbury)