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Waitarere Safety Snapshot

Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Waitarere safe? About average. Waitarere has a safety score of 56/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 56% of New Zealand suburbs, with 26.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #39 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui.

The annual total crime rate in Waitarere is 26.6 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #39 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 October 2025, March 2026, May 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
56 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
26.6
Regional rank #39 / 131 (Top 50%)
3-Month Trend
i
▼25%(improving)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Theft 30.0%
    Theft accounts for 30.0 percent of incidents.
  • Burglary 26.0%
    Burglary accounts for 26.0 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 6.0%
    Assault accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
  • Sexual Offences 1.0%
    Sexual Offences accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.
  • Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 1.0%
    Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Waitarere ›

Waitarere Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,460

Households

1,014

Median income

$84,663

Median rent

$359

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
363 (14.8%)
Age 15-64
1,455 (59.1%)
Age 65+
636 (25.9%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
2,091 (85.8%)
Born overseas
345 (14.2%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
2,139 · 74.5%
Māori
519 · 18.1%
Pacific
93 · 3.2%
Asian
75 · 2.6%
MELAA
12 · 0.4%
Other
33 · 1.1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
1,944 · 100%
Not owned
588 · 30.4%
Other
159 · 8.2%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
678 (22.6%)
Two families
33 (1.1%)
Three+ families
0 (0%)
Other composition
2,283 (76.3%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Waitarere a safe suburb to live in?

    Waitarere has a safety score of 56/100, making it the #39 safest of 131 ranked suburbs in Manawatū-Whanganui Region. 88% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Waitarere?

    The annual crime rate in Waitarere is 26.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Waitarere

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs