Wharenui Safety Snapshot

Is Wharenui safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Wharenui has a safety score of 19/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 19% of New Zealand suburbs, with 42.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #228 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury.

The annual total crime rate in Wharenui is 42.6 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #228 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. The overall crime trend in the area has remained the same in recent months with criminal activity peaking in May 2026, June 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 48.8%
  Theft accounts for 48.8 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 38.0%
  Burglary accounts for 38.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 9.9%
  Assault accounts for 9.9 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 2.5%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 2.5 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 0.8%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 0.8 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Wharenui ›

Wharenui Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,835

Households

870

Median income

$75,701

Median rent

$401

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

294 (10.4%)

Age 15-64

2,127 (75%)

Age 65+

435 (15.3%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,674 (59.4%)

Born overseas

1,146 (40.6%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,599 · 51.3%

Māori

273 · 8.8%

Pacific

168 · 5.4%

Asian

996 · 32%

MELAA

75 · 2.4%

Other

6 · 0.2%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

2,382 · 100%

Not owned

1,884 · 79.1%

Other

165 · 6.9%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

450 (17.6%)

Two families

24 (0.9%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

2,085 (81.5%)

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

FAQ

• Is Wharenui a safe suburb to live in?

  Wharenui has a safety score of 19/100, making it the #228 safest of 288 ranked suburbs in Canterbury Region. 87% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Wharenui?

  The annual crime rate in Wharenui is 42.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Bush Inn (Canterbury)
• Middleton (Canterbury)
• Riccarton West (Canterbury)
• Upper Riccarton (Canterbury)
• Ilam University (Canterbury)
• Deans Bush (Canterbury)
• Riccarton South (Canterbury)
• Sockburn South (Canterbury)
• Ilam South (Canterbury)
• Sockburn North (Canterbury)