Upper Whanganui Safety Snapshot

Is Upper Whanganui safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Upper Whanganui has a safety score of 27/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 27% of New Zealand suburbs, with 30.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #92 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui.

The annual total crime rate in Upper Whanganui is 30.7 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #92 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in September 2025, January 2026, March 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 13.0%
  Burglary accounts for 13.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 12.0%
  Theft accounts for 12.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 9.0%
  Assault accounts for 9.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 2.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 2.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Upper Whanganui ›

Upper Whanganui Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,194

Households

444

Median income

$69,095

Median rent

$194

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

228 (19.1%)

Age 15-64

759 (63.6%)

Age 65+

204 (17.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,095 (93.4%)

Born overseas

78 (6.6%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

867 · 60.2%

Māori

519 · 36%

Pacific

24 · 1.7%

Asian

9 · 0.6%

MELAA

9 · 0.6%

Other

12 · 0.8%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

822 · 100%

Not owned

354 · 43.4%

Other

153 · 18.8%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

273 (20.8%)

Two families

15 (1.1%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,023 (78%)

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

FAQ

• Is Upper Whanganui a safe suburb to live in?

  Upper Whanganui has a safety score of 27/100, making it the #92 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui Region. 69% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Upper Whanganui?

  The annual crime rate in Upper Whanganui is 30.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz