Upper Hurunui Safety Snapshot

Is Upper Hurunui safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Upper Hurunui has a safety score of 35/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 35% of New Zealand suburbs, with 29.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #194 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Upper Hurunui is 29.3 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #194 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in December 2025, February 2026, June 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 21.0%
  Burglary accounts for 21.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 14.0%
  Theft accounts for 14.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 5.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 5.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 3.0%
  Assault accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Upper Hurunui ›

Upper Hurunui Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,497

Households

630

Median income

$71,629

Median rent

$221

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

243 (16.2%)

Age 15-64

915 (61.1%)

Age 65+

345 (23%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,278 (85.7%)

Born overseas

213 (14.3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,377 · 85%

Māori

126 · 7.8%

Pacific

30 · 1.9%

Asian

39 · 2.4%

MELAA

12 · 0.7%

Other

36 · 2.2%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,161 · 100%

Not owned

417 · 36.2%

Other

108 · 9.4%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

405 (22.1%)

Two families

12 (0.7%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,416 (77.3%)

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

FAQ

• Is Upper Hurunui a safe suburb to live in?

  Upper Hurunui has a safety score of 35/100, making it the #194 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 81% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Upper Hurunui?

  The annual crime rate in Upper Hurunui is 29.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz