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Suburb profile · Wellington · NZ

Karori West NZ

Karori West is in Wellington, New Zealand, with population 2,718.

Limited data

Thin-context

This page still helps with local context, but the evidence stack is too thin for a clean suburb-level call. Use nearby alternatives or compare mode before turning it into a shortlist decision.

Why it fits

Transport coverage adds a practical access signal. Lower deprivation supports a livability-led read.

What to check

The page is thin enough that nearby alternatives should be checked before shortlisting.

Median rent
Census rent fallback
Population
2,718
3K local footprint
D7 vs NZ
Income
$52K/yr
Median personal income
D9 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 4
Mid-range deprivation
D4 vs NZ
Schools
No matched schools

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$850K
-2.8% over 5yr
1.2%YoY
Lower quartile
$702K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
2,544
QV-based HPI
19.3%5yr
Income to buy
6.4x
Years of median income
Annual sales
2,398
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$3,942/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
35%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
8.5 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$4,143
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$3,759
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$3,942
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$4,016

A territorial-authority estimate: the Wellington City median sale price on a 20% deposit and 30-year loan, against the TA median household income implied by HUD's income-to-buy ratio, at RBNZ new-mortgage rates. A market-wide guide, not a Karori West-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -3.1%5yr -23.8%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Wellington City territorial authority (monthly, Jan 2007 = 1000). A valuation-based index of price movement over time — distinct from the actual median sale price above.

Years of median household income to buy

Figures are for the Wellington City territorial authority (as at 2026-03). New Zealand has no free suburb-level sale-price series, so these are TA-wide medians from HUD Local Housing Statistics (LINZ District Valuation Roll + Stats NZ) — a market backdrop for Karori West, not a Karori West-specific sale price.

Personal income

$52K personal · yr+7.2% vs Wellington suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
312
$10,001-$20,000
213
$20,001-$30,000
240
$30,001-$50,000
285
$50,001-$70,000
327
$70,001-$100,000
324
$100,001 or more
474

Median individual income. NZ has no suburb-level household-income or sale-price data, so this is a personal-income benchmark, not a household-affordability measure. Distribution covers people aged 15+ with stated income; counts are randomly rounded to base 3.

Housing stock and tenure

Home ownership over three censuses-3.7pp since 2013
2013
69% owned
2018
68% owned
2023
65% owned

7.1% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

33% damp (+1pp vs 2018) and 24% with visible mould larger than A4 (-1pp vs 2018).

Investor-specific data (gearing, investor concentration) is not published for NZ suburbs — the tenure trend above is the available investor signal.

Population outlook

209,800 people · 2023218,100 by 2033 (+4.0%)

Stats NZ subnational projection (2023 base, medium series) for Wellington City — the finest official projection grain available; suburb-level projections do not exist.

Crime

Rate · per 100k5,786
Total incidents11,727· 2026-05
  • Assault1,52243%
  • Burglary1,68248%
  • Robbery1284%
  • Sexual Assault1825%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
High
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
2.1 km
Wellington Fault
Fault slip rate
High
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Karori West's centre to the nearest mapped active fault (GNS Science NZ Active Faults Database) — an area estimate, not a site-specific seismic assessment. NZ's full ground-shaking model (NSHM) is not available as a queryable map layer.

Short-term rentals

7
active listings · ~2.6 per 1,000 residents
43%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
57%
run by multi-listing operators

Active Airbnb listings point-mapped to this suburb from Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0). Occupancy and revenue are estimates from Inside Airbnb's San Francisco model (review-rate proxy, minimum-stay assumption, occupancy capped at 70%) — they are gross, indicative, and not a guarantee of returns. Short-stay letting is subject to state and local regulation.

Livability

71/ 100 livability index

Top 29% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 71% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access62
Public transport (26 stops)96
Schools & hospitals0

Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer

Suburb-level access-density index (not an address-level walk-time score), normalised within New Zealand suburbs. Method based on the Urban Liveability Index (Higgs et al. 2019) and Walk Score — three equal-weighted domains combined with an imbalance penalty.

Investment grade

Dgrade · 27/100 · top 73% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 27% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth0
Rental yield45
Stability89

Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer

District-level grade across New Zealand territorial authorities, combining 5-year price growth, rental yield (district median rent vs district median price), and stability (price-to-income level + affordability trajectory) via the same three-pillar method with an imbalance penalty. New Zealand has no free suburb-level prices, so this reflects your area's territorial authority. Within-New-Zealand relative, indicative only — not financial advice.

Building activity

Latest consents
0
0 houses · 0 units
100.0%YoY

Employment

Employed residents
1,566
Was 1,527 in 2018
2.6%vs 2018 D8 vs NZ

Full data detail

Karori West Wellington — Property Data and Demographics

Karori West is a small suburb in Wellington with a population of 2,718 and a median age of 36. Median personal income is $52K per year. The main ethnic groups are European, Asian, Māori. Wellington population estimates moved +0.0% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +1.0% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 1,527 in 2018 to 1,566 in 2023 (+2.6%), which should be read as a census-to-census employment backdrop rather than a live jobs series. Te Waihanga's December 2025 Pipeline snapshot tracked over 12,000 NZ infrastructure initiatives, with more than 2,700 under construction and transport taking 52% of projected 2026 pipeline spend, which should be read as a broader national delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project list.

Livability indicators for Karori West: NZDep decile 4 (moderate deprivation); 26 transport stops (26 bus).

In 2026, Karori West recorded 0 building approvals (0 houses, 0 units), down 100% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
DeprivationDecile 4· Moderate
Transport Access26 stops Well Connected
Development-100% Slowing
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)0
YoY change-100%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population2,718
Median age36
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$52,200
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived4/10
NZDep score965

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European1,773
Asian705
Māori222
Pacific Peoples198
MELAA96
Top industriesCensus 23
Public Administration and Safety318
Professional, Scientific and Technical225
Health Care and Social Assistance144
Accommodation and Food114
Education and Training111
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics1
Fuel stations1
Cafes & dining4
TransportGTFS
Bus stops26
Shortlist workspace

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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Thin evidence

Karori West is a thin local read rather than a complete suburb verdict.

NZ suburb pages combine Stats NZ, MBIE, MoE, GTFS, and pinned service coverage. The key difference is that some items are direct feeds, while others are fallback or snapshot layers.

RENT POSTURE
Rent is using MBIE bond data when present.

Treat current rent as a decision input, not as a guaranteed market quote.

HOSPITAL POSTURE
Hospital coverage comes from an official pinned snapshot.

This is a trusted coverage layer, but it is still a pinned snapshot rather than a live facility API.

TRANSPORT POSTURE
Transport is feed-based and depends on GTFS bundle coverage.

It is good for stop presence and local network context, but not a guarantee that every operator or schedule is equally current.

Data status
Weekly rent
Stats NZ Census 2023 · No linked local rent source
stable source · manual file · snapshot · census-cycle
Missing
Schools
MoE school directory · No linked local school matches
stable source · automated · every update · nightly
Missing
Hospitals
Pinned Health NZ public hospital snapshot · No linked local hospital coverage
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Transport
NZ GTFS bundle · 26 matched stops
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Available
Building consents
Stats NZ building consents CSV · 2026 · Annual release series
Available
Demographic baseline
Stats NZ Census 2023 · Population, income, and demographic baseline
stable source · manual file · snapshot · census-cycle
Available
Available means a direct local source is linked. Verify means the page is using a weaker fallback or coverage-only snapshot, especially Census rent fallback or pinned hospital coverage.
Sparse locality note

This page stays indexable because Karori West still carries enough real local context to help with NZ suburb discovery. It should still be read as a lighter locality brief, not as a fully covered suburb profile.

WHY IT LOOKS LIGHTER
The page is missing a direct local rent signal.

That leaves the page relying more on Census and service context than on a stronger market read.

WHAT IS MISSING
Coverage is lighter across school matches and hospital coverage.

Coverage is thinner on school matches and hospital coverage; don't let a single sparse read define the suburb.

BEST NEXT STEP
Use this page to frame the locality, then compare or zoom back out.

Use the region hub, compare, or nearby better-covered suburbs first, before treating this as a complete market read.

Page status
INDEXED WITH LIGHTER COVERAGE

The page still has enough real suburb context to remain searchable, but some market and service layers are too light for a full-confidence read.

HOW TO READ THIS PAGE

Frame the locality with this page, then pressure-test the story in compare, the region hub, or a better-covered nearby suburb before calling it complete.

Stronger nearby reads

If Karori West feels too thin on its own, use these nearby suburbs as stronger local reads before treating it as a full shortlist call.

Tawa Central most similar
similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop same · adds rent coverage · income -$1K

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Lyall Bay most similar
similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop -100 · adds rent coverage · income +$4K

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Vivian East most similar
similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop same · adds rent coverage · income +$11K

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Karori West FAQ

Common questions
  1. What is the livability profile for Karori West?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Karori West show: Moderate, Well Connected, Slowing. These are based on rent affordability, school EQI, NZDep deprivation index, and transport access.

  2. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Karori West?

    Housing data comes from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). Demographics are from Stats NZ Census 2023. Schools data uses the Ministry of Education Equity Index (EQI). The deprivation score uses NZDep2018. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.

  3. How often is the Karori West data updated?

    RBNZ macro data updates with each deploy. Demographics are from NZ Census 2023. School EQI scores are from the Ministry of Education latest release.