SafeSuburbs Logo SafeSuburbs

Upper Riccarton Safety Snapshot

Canterbury, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Upper Riccarton safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Upper Riccarton has a safety score of 3/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 3% of New Zealand suburbs, with 272.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #284 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Upper Riccarton is 272.8 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #284 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 September 2025, May 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
3 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
272.8
Regional rank #284 / 288 (Bottom 25%)
3-Month Trend
i
▲2.8%(worsening)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Theft 85.1%
    Theft accounts for 85.1 percent of incidents.
  • Burglary 8.9%
    Burglary accounts for 8.9 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 5.3%
    Assault accounts for 5.3 percent of incidents.
  • Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 0.7%
    Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 0.7 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Upper Riccarton ›

Upper Riccarton Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,521

Households

480

Median income

$64,294

Median rent

$374

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
180 (11.8%)
Age 15-64
1,215 (79.9%)
Age 65+
120 (7.9%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
906 (60.2%)
Born overseas
600 (39.8%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
813 · 47.9%
Māori
213 · 12.5%
Pacific
96 · 5.7%
Asian
519 · 30.6%
MELAA
45 · 2.7%
Other
12 · 0.7%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
1,233 · 100%
Not owned
1,032 · 83.9%
Other
102 · 8.3%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
216 (15.3%)
Two families
15 (1.1%)
Three+ families
3 (0.2%)
Other composition
1,176 (83.4%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Upper Riccarton a safe suburb to live in?

    Upper Riccarton has a safety score of 3/100, making it the #284 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 94% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Upper Riccarton?

    The annual crime rate in Upper Riccarton is 272.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Upper Riccarton

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs