Wānaka West Safety Snapshot

Is Wānaka West safe? Yes. Wānaka West has a safety score of 98/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 98% of New Zealand suburbs, with 5.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #4 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago.

The annual total crime rate in Wānaka West is 5.2 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #4 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in December 2025, March 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 4.0%
  Theft accounts for 4.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 3.0%
  Assault accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 2.0%
  Burglary accounts for 2.0 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 Wānaka West ›

Wānaka West Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,941

Households

780

Median income

$103,756

Median rent

$598

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

222 (11.4%)

Age 15-64

1,170 (60.3%)

Age 65+

537 (27.7%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,362 (71%)

Born overseas

555 (29%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,791 · 87.3%

Māori

96 · 4.7%

Pacific

21 · 1%

Asian

93 · 4.5%

MELAA

42 · 2%

Other

9 · 0.4%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,554 · 100%

Not owned

627 · 40.6%

Other

168 · 10.9%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

498 (21.8%)

Two families

9 (0.4%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,779 (77.8%)

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

FAQ

• Is Wānaka West a safe suburb to live in?

  Wānaka West has a safety score of 98/100, making it the #4 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago Region. 60% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Wānaka West?

  The annual crime rate in Wānaka West is 5.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Wānaka Central (Otago)
• Wānaka Waterfront (Otago)
• Wānaka North (Otago)
• Northlake (Otago)
• Albert Town (Otago)
• Cardrona (Otago)