Waianiwa Safety Snapshot

Is Waianiwa safe? Yes. Waianiwa has a safety score of 85/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 85% of New Zealand suburbs, with 9.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #13 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland.

The annual total crime rate in Waianiwa is 9.4 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #13 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in September 2025, March 2026, May 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Assault 6.0%
  Assault accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 3.0%
  Theft accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 1.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 1.0%
  Burglary accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.

---

View full safety overview for Waianiwa ›

Waianiwa Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,182

Households

435

Median income

$106,423

Median rent

$175

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

252 (21.3%)

Age 15-64

798 (67.5%)

Age 65+

114 (9.6%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

945 (80.2%)

Born overseas

234 (19.8%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

945 · 73.8%

Māori

114 · 8.9%

Pacific

9 · 0.7%

Asian

168 · 13.1%

MELAA

21 · 1.6%

Other

24 · 1.9%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

879 · 100%

Not owned

408 · 46.6%

Other

45 · 5.1%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

327 (25.4%)

Two families

9 (0.7%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

951 (73.9%)

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

FAQ

• Is Waianiwa a safe suburb to live in?

  Waianiwa has a safety score of 85/100, making it the #13 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. Property crime is 36% of recorded crime; the rest is offences against people and other categories.

• What is the crime rate in Waianiwa?

  The annual crime rate in Waianiwa is 9.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz