Puniu Safety Snapshot

Is Puniu safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Puniu has a safety score of 22/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 22% of New Zealand suburbs, with 51.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #171 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato.

The annual total crime rate in Puniu is 51.3 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #171 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in December 2025, July 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Assault 55.0%
  Assault accounts for 55.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 17.0%
  Burglary accounts for 17.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 6.0%
  Theft accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 3.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Puniu ›

Puniu Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,593

Households

429

Median income

$92,987

Median rent

$252

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

297 (18.6%)

Age 15-64

1,128 (70.8%)

Age 65+

171 (10.7%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,371 (87.7%)

Born overseas

192 (12.3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,215 · 65.1%

Māori

456 · 24.4%

Pacific

69 · 3.7%

Asian

84 · 4.5%

MELAA

15 · 0.8%

Other

27 · 1.4%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,002 · 100%

Not owned

594 · 59.3%

Other

291 · 29%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

303 (23.9%)

Two families

15 (1.2%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

948 (74.9%)

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

FAQ

• Is Puniu a safe suburb to live in?

  Puniu has a safety score of 22/100, making it the #171 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato Region. Property crime is 28% of recorded crime; the rest is offences against people and other categories.

• What is the crime rate in Puniu?

  The annual crime rate in Puniu is 51.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz