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Watlington Safety Snapshot

Canterbury, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Watlington safe? About average. Watlington has a safety score of 66/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 66% of New Zealand suburbs, with 14.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #111 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Watlington is 14.7 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #111 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in November 2025, December 2025, January 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
66 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
14.7
Regional rank #111 / 288 (Top 50%)
3-Month Trend
i
▼50%(improving)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Theft 21.0%
    Theft accounts for 21.0 percent of incidents.
  • Burglary 8.0%
    Burglary accounts for 8.0 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 3.0%
    Assault accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.
  • Sexual Offences 1.0%
    Sexual Offences accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Watlington ›

Watlington Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,256

Households

909

Median income

$82,236

Median rent

$342

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
462 (20.5%)
Age 15-64
1,386 (61.4%)
Age 65+
396 (17.6%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
1,881 (83.9%)
Born overseas
360 (16.1%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
1,908 · 76.4%
Māori
291 · 11.6%
Pacific
150 · 6%
Asian
126 · 5%
MELAA
3 · 0.1%
Other
21 · 0.8%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
1,710 · 99.7%
Not owned
645 · 37.6%
Other
78 · 4.5%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
612 (22.5%)
Two families
9 (0.3%)
Three+ families
0 (0%)
Other composition
2,097 (77.2%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Watlington a safe suburb to live in?

    Watlington has a safety score of 66/100, making it the #111 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 88% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Watlington?

    The annual crime rate in Watlington is 14.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Watlington

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs