Westown Safety Snapshot

Is Westown safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Westown has a safety score of 30/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 30% of New Zealand suburbs, with 34.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #52 safest of 61 ranked suburbs in Taranaki.

The annual total crime rate in Westown is 34.6 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #52 safest of 61 ranked suburbs in Taranaki Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in September 2025, December 2025, January 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 42.2%
  Theft accounts for 42.2 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 31.7%
  Burglary accounts for 31.7 percent of incidents.
• Assault 21.7%
  Assault accounts for 21.7 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 2.5%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 2.5 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 1.9%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 1.9 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Westown ›

Westown Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

4,677

Households

1,854

Median income

$70,539

Median rent

$364

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

912 (19.5%)

Age 15-64

2,808 (60%)

Age 65+

1,011 (21.6%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

3,816 (82%)

Born overseas

840 (18%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

3,645 · 66.9%

Māori

1,077 · 19.8%

Pacific

162 · 3%

Asian

489 · 9%

MELAA

27 · 0.5%

Other

51 · 0.9%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

3,513 · 100%

Not owned

1,758 · 50.1%

Other

258 · 7.4%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

1,077 (19.6%)

Two families

33 (0.6%)

Three+ families

3 (0.1%)

Other composition

4,380 (79.7%)

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

FAQ

• Is Westown a safe suburb to live in?

  Westown has a safety score of 30/100, making it the #52 safest of 61 ranked suburbs in Taranaki Region. 74% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Westown?

  The annual crime rate in Westown is 34.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Marfell (Taranaki)
• Blagdon-Lynmouth (Taranaki)
• Kawaroa (Taranaki)
• Lower Vogeltown (Taranaki)
• Moturoa (Taranaki)
• Frankleigh Park (Taranaki)
• New Plymouth Central (Taranaki)
• Inlet Port Taranaki (Taranaki)
• Whalers Gate (Taranaki)
• Upper Vogeltown (Taranaki)