Washington Safety Snapshot

Is Washington safe? About average. Washington has a safety score of 62/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 62% of New Zealand suburbs, with 15 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #13 safest of 23 ranked suburbs in Nelson.

The annual total crime rate in Washington is 15 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #13 safest of 23 ranked suburbs in Nelson Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in September 2025, June 2026, July 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 17.0%
  Theft accounts for 17.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 11.0%
  Burglary accounts for 11.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 8.0%
  Assault accounts for 8.0 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 3.0%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 2.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 2.0 percent of incidents.
• Harm Or Endanger Persons 1.0%
  Harm Or Endanger Persons accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Washington ›

Washington Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,832

Households

1,008

Median income

$90,169

Median rent

$426

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

546 (19.3%)

Age 15-64

1,905 (67.3%)

Age 65+

342 (12.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,899 (67.8%)

Born overseas

903 (32.2%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

2,073 · 65.1%

Māori

465 · 14.6%

Pacific

108 · 3.4%

Asian

435 · 13.7%

MELAA

48 · 1.5%

Other

54 · 1.7%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

2,136 · 100%

Not owned

1,077 · 50.6%

Other

153 · 7.2%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

657 (21.9%)

Two families

30 (1%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

2,310 (77.1%)

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

FAQ

• Is Washington a safe suburb to live in?

  Washington has a safety score of 62/100, making it the #13 safest of 23 ranked suburbs in Nelson Region. 67% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Washington?

  The annual crime rate in Washington is 15 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Britannia (Nelson)
• Toi Toi (Nelson)
• Victory (Nelson)
• Nelson Central-Trafalgar (Nelson)
• Rutherford (Nelson)
• Port Nelson (Nelson)
• Tahuna Hills (Nelson)
• The Wood (Nelson)
• Tāhunanui (Nelson)
• Grampians (Nelson)