Waitahora Safety Snapshot

Is Waitahora safe? Yes. Waitahora has a safety score of 75/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 75% of New Zealand suburbs, with 20.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #19 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui.

The annual total crime rate in Waitahora is 20.6 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #19 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in February 2026, June 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 11.0%
  Theft accounts for 11.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 2.0%
  Burglary accounts for 2.0 percent of incidents.

---

View full safety overview for Waitahora ›

Waitahora Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

639

Households

234

Median income

$85,446

Median rent

$165

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

162 (25.4%)

Age 15-64

405 (63.4%)

Age 65+

75 (11.7%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

594 (92.5%)

Born overseas

48 (7.5%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

540 · 72.6%

Māori

168 · 22.6%

Pacific

6 · 0.8%

Asian

9 · 1.2%

MELAA

6 · 0.8%

Other

15 · 2%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

438 · 99.3%

Not owned

201 · 45.6%

Other

33 · 7.5%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

153 (22.6%)

Two families

6 (0.9%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

519 (76.5%)

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

FAQ

• Is Waitahora a safe suburb to live in?

  Waitahora has a safety score of 75/100, making it the #19 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui Region. 100% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Waitahora?

  The annual crime rate in Waitahora is 20.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz