Waiwhetu South Safety Snapshot

Is Waiwhetu South safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Waiwhetu South has a safety score of 24/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 24% of New Zealand suburbs, with 36.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #167 safest of 215 ranked suburbs in Wellington.

The annual total crime rate in Waiwhetu South is 36.6 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #167 safest of 215 ranked suburbs in Wellington Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in October 2025, March 2026, June 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 41.3%
  Burglary accounts for 41.3 percent of incidents.
• Theft 38.5%
  Theft accounts for 38.5 percent of incidents.
• Assault 16.3%
  Assault accounts for 16.3 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 2.9%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 2.9 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 1.0%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Waiwhetu South ›

Waiwhetu South Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,874

Households

1,122

Median income

$102,175

Median rent

$450

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

552 (19.2%)

Age 15-64

1,965 (68.4%)

Age 65+

375 (13%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,899 (66.9%)

Born overseas

939 (33.1%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,782 · 52.4%

Māori

513 · 15.1%

Pacific

315 · 9.3%

Asian

684 · 20.1%

MELAA

84 · 2.5%

Other

21 · 0.6%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

2,211 · 99.6%

Not owned

1,176 · 53%

Other

108 · 4.9%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

690 (20.8%)

Two families

30 (0.9%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

2,592 (78.3%)

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

FAQ

• Is Waiwhetu South a safe suburb to live in?

  Waiwhetu South has a safety score of 24/100, making it the #167 safest of 215 ranked suburbs in Wellington Region. 80% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Waiwhetu South?

  The annual crime rate in Waiwhetu South is 36.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Waiwhetu North (Wellington)
• Moera (Wellington)
• Woburn (Wellington)
• Waterloo West (Wellington)
• Waterloo East (Wellington)
• Towai (Wellington)
• Hutt Central South (Wellington)
• Gracefield (Wellington)
• Petone East (Wellington)
• Hutt Central North (Wellington)