West Otago Safety Snapshot

Is West Otago safe? Yes. West Otago has a safety score of 84/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 84% of New Zealand suburbs, with 23.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #38 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago.

The annual total crime rate in West Otago is 23.9 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #38 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 February 2026, March 2026, June 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 32.0%
  Burglary accounts for 32.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 12.0%
  Theft accounts for 12.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 8.0%
  Assault accounts for 8.0 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 West Otago ›

West Otago Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,247

Households

900

Median income

$76,917

Median rent

$197

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

474 (21.1%)

Age 15-64

1,341 (59.7%)

Age 65+

405 (18%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,914 (86.1%)

Born overseas

309 (13.9%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

2,013 · 81.8%

Māori

252 · 10.2%

Pacific

24 · 1%

Asian

90 · 3.7%

MELAA

18 · 0.7%

Other

63 · 2.6%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,662 · 99.3%

Not owned

648 · 38.7%

Other

105 · 6.3%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

606 (22.5%)

Two families

3 (0.1%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

2,088 (77.4%)

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

FAQ

• Is West Otago a safe suburb to live in?

  West Otago has a safety score of 84/100, making it the #38 safest of 120 ranked suburbs in Otago Region. 83% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in West Otago?

  The annual crime rate in West Otago is 23.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz