Driftsands has a safety index of 23 out of 100 (Higher reported crime). This is a relative measure comparing reported crime across Cape Town suburbs, not an absolute safety guarantee. The Mfuleni precinct recorded approximately 9,264 crimes in the most recent annual period. Absolute crime volume is above the city average.

Is Driftsands affordable?

Driftsands is among the more affordable suburbs in Cape Town. With a median property value of R270K, it falls in the 6th percentile, below most of the city. Note that these figures are based on the City of Cape Town General Valuation 2022 and reflect municipal valuations, not necessarily current market prices.

What are utility costs in Driftsands?

The median monthly water cost per account in Driftsands is R169, 74% below the city median of R658.

What is the municipal debt in Driftsands?

As of May 2026, the average outstanding municipal debt per account in Driftsands is R11,731, 33% above the city median of R8,815. Figures include all account types, so may overstate household debt in areas with commercial activity.

Driftsands

A suburb with higher reported crime, more affordable property values, and well-connected public transport relative to Cape Town.

Safety23/100Precinct estimate only · ↓ Improving Property0-200kTop 94%Schools3nearby Healthcare17 facilitiesmore access than most suburbs CouncilBelow avg complaints3d median resolution TransportMinibus taxi coveragewell-connected area

Data current as of June 2026

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Driftsands is a neighbourhood in Cape Flats, Cape Town, where property values place it among the more affordable areas in Cape Town. The area's safety profile is among the more challenging areas for reported safety in Cape Town.

How is the area changing?

In Driftsands, crime is declining based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property values have grown above inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

Driftsands is served by schools within reach. In this area, service complaints are generally resolved within a few days. The suburb is well-served by nearby healthcare facilities.

Neighbourhood summary generated from StreetSignal data and reviewed by our team.

These statistics describe the suburb as a whole. Conditions vary between streets and neighbourhoods within any suburb.

For home buyers & families

Is Driftsands safe?

Higher reported crime

Higher crimeModerateLower crime

54th percentile among 744 suburbs · Data: Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026) · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Very highAbsolute crime volume

9 264 reported crimes per year · city median: 4 280

↓ 5.5% vs Q3 2024

Crime is higher than most of Cape Town but has been decreasing over the past year. Contact crime (assault, robbery) dominates the reported crime profile. Check the breakdown below for specifics.

Detailed data

Safety index (resident-adjusted) How is this calculated?: 23 / 100Limited data — why?
Contact crime rate: 2,233,578 per 100k residents
Station population: 239 187
Harm rate (per resident): 24/100
Harm volume (absolute): 22/100
Data period: Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026)
Source: SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0

This data reflects crimes reported to SAPS Mfuleni precinct, which covers Driftsands and surrounding suburbs. Reported crime may differ from actual crime levels.Full methodology

Disagree with this score? Challenge the methodology ›

Source: SAPS via DataFirst · Q4 2025/2026

FOR BUYERS & INVESTORS

What do properties cost in Driftsands?

6th percentile

The median property value in Driftsands is R270K. Property values have grown by 11.9% per year since 2018.

A 11.9% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.

Value band distribution – Driftsands properties (GV2022)

0-200k ◀

2-400k

4-600k

1-1.5M

Property values are based on the City of Cape Town's 2022 General Valuation roll. GV is an assessed value for municipal rating purposes; transaction prices frequently exceed GV. Recent sales transaction data and rental market data are not available as open data in South Africa.

Median GV2022: R270,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022): +11.9% per year↑ Growing
City-wide value percentile: 6th percentile
Dominant value band: 0-200k
Source: CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781
Vintage: General Valuation 2022 (municipal valuation, not current market price)

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

FOR RESIDENTS

What do utilities cost in Driftsands?

Computed from City of Cape Town billing data

Water

R169 / month

74% below city median

Electricity

This area is supplied by Eskom. City of Cape Town electricity billing data is not available.

Water trend:Dec 2025: R169Jan 2026: R132Feb 2026: R523

Monthly cost per account from City of Cape Town billing data. Water coverage: 647 suburbs. Electricity coverage: 384 suburbs.

INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Development activity in Driftsands

↑ Increasing

Driftsands had 3 building plans approved in the last three financial years (FY22/23 to FY24/25), averaging 1 per year. Most were renovations and extensions.

3-year approvals: 3
Annual average: 1/yr
Avg project value: R1.6M

Building plans approved by the City of Cape Town (2014-2025). Approvals indicate planned investment, not completed construction. This data reflects formal building activity only and does not capture informal construction, backyard dwellings, or building work undertaken without a formal plan submission. In areas with high informality, actual construction activity may be substantially higher than these figures suggest. Source: CoCT Building Development Management (DAMS).

FOR PARENTS

How are schools in Driftsands?

3 schools nearby

Driftsands has 3 schools within reach. Schools include The Ark City Of Refuge Trading As The A.

Matric results: pass rate data currently covers 157 of 744 suburbs.Driftsands will surface when DBE suburb-level data is processed in the next pipeline run. About coverage ›

IND
The Ark City Of Refuge Trading As The A
Independent · Grades R–7 · 334 learners · 30.4:1 learner-educator ratio
PrivateNo-fee school
Q3
Mzamomtsha Primary School
Public · Grades R–7 · 1,069 learners · 33.4:1 learner-educator ratio
No-fee school
Q3
Academia Primary School
Public · Grades R–7 · 546 learners · 32.1:1 learner-educator ratio
No-fee school

Quintile 5 is the highest government-funding category - fees apply, but these are the best-resourced public schools in South Africa. Rankings set by the WCED against community socioeconomic index. Learner-educator ratio (LER) is from EMIS Q2 2025; under 30:1 is favourable by WCED standards, over 40:1 indicates strained capacity. What quintile means ›

Source: DBE EMIS · Q2 2025

FOR COMMUTERS

How connected is Driftsands?

Connected

Driftsands has 21 minibus taxi routes, including routes to the CBD.

Taxi connectivity

Connected

21 routes

67th percentile · 21 destinations · CBD-connected

Routes pass through Driftsands but may not originate or terminate here. Connectivity index reflects geographic proximity to route corridors.

Athlone, Bellville, Cape town, Cape town (station deck), Claremont (lansdowne rd, jan smuts dr & turfhall rd), Claremont(via wynberg) +15 more

Based on CCT minibus taxi route data. Routes matched by name and spatial proximity (500m). Methodology ›

Commute mode data is not available for this suburb. The CCT Household Survey covers 163 survey areas; this suburb is outside the surveyed areas.

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Driftsands?

Responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Driftsands in a median of 3 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 801 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data

Below-average municipal responsiveness. A 3-day median resolution is slower than the city median – infrastructure complaints take meaningfully longer to resolve.

Median days to resolve
City median: 1

8th

Percentile
across Cape Town

18%

Resolved
same day

Sewerage overflow (15%)Street lights out (6%)Leak at meter/stopcock 20mm below (5%)Faulty tap (5%)Burst pipe (5%)

Service requests logged: 801
Requests resolved: 77% (617 of 801)
75% resolved within: 6 days
90% resolved within: 15 days
Source: CCT service request database

Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Below city average

Complaint rate How is this calculated?: 0.0 per 1,000 households
Total complaints: 800
Unresolved: 23.0%

Top issues: Sewerage overflow (118), Street lights out (49), Leak at meter/stopcock 20mm below (42)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

MUNICIPAL FINANCE

Municipal debt in Driftsands

33% above city median

Computed from City of Cape Town financial data

Municipal debt in Driftsands averages R11 731 per account, compared to the city median of R8 815.

R11 731

per account

33% above city median

Trend:Mar 2026: R10 676Apr 2026: R12 612May 2026: R11 731

Breakdown as of May 2026

Property rates: R1 571 629
Electricity: R0
Water: R3 022 934
Refuse: R276 452
Sewerage: R877 708
City-wide cleaning: R11 221
Improvement district: R0

Outstanding municipal arrears from City of Cape Town financial records. Coverage: 741 suburbs. Per-account figures available for 582 suburbs.

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Driftsands?

Well served

Healthcare access

17 within 5km

Nearest public: Site B Male Clinic · Community Day Centre · 1.7 km
Nearest private: Melomed Mitchells Plain · Private Hospital · 6.1 km
Public facilities: 17
Private facilities: 0

This suburb has public healthcare access but no private facilities within 5 km.

The nearest fire station to Driftsands is Mfuleni, 1.8 km away. The nearest public pool is Blue Downs Swimming Pool, 3.3 km away. The nearest clinic is Site B Male Clinic, 1.7 km away.

Nearest clinic: Site B Male Clinic · 1.7 km
Nearest library: Mfuleni · 1.4 km
Nearest park / open space: Church Street Park · 1.25 km

Fire station

1.8

km to nearest
fire station

Mfuleni

community station

within-5km

response
category

Cape Town has 32 fire stations serving 744 suburbs. Source: CCT open data.

Public swimming pools

3.3

km to nearest
public pool

pools
within 5 km

pools
within 10 km

Nearest pool: Blue Downs Swimming Pool

Cape Town operates 35 public swimming pools. Source: CCT open data.

Distances straight-line from suburb centroid.

Source: City of Cape Town facility registry

Nearby suburbs

Barnet Molokwana Corner715m

47→

Nonqubela1.2km · R230K

29→

Mfuleni1.5km · R262K

14→

Sabata Dalindyebo Square1.7km · R211K

44→

Victoria Mxenge2.0km · R230K

30→

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Bordering suburbs

23 adjacent

Suburbs that border or sit adjacent to Driftsands. Each has its own safety profile, property market, and service data.

Driftsands

What's it like to live here?

How is the area changing?

What should buyers know?

Is Driftsands safe?

What do properties cost in Driftsands?

What do utilities cost in Driftsands?

Development activity in Driftsands

How are schools in Driftsands?

How connected is Driftsands?

Taxi connectivity

How responsive are municipal services in Driftsands?

Complaints & top issues

Municipal debt in Driftsands

What services are near Driftsands?

Healthcare access

Fire station

Public swimming pools

Nearby suburbs

Similar suburbs

Bordering suburbs

Related articles

Help us improve Driftsands

Driftsands

What's it like to live here?

How is the area changing?

What should buyers know?

Is Driftsands safe?

What do properties cost in Driftsands?

What do utilities cost in Driftsands?

Development activity in Driftsands

How are schools in Driftsands?

How connected is Driftsands?

Taxi connectivityRanks this suburb's taxi route access against all 744 Cape Town suburbs. Based on routes matched by name and within 500m of suburb centre. Large suburbs may have higher actual connectivity than shown.Full methodology ›

How responsive are municipal services in Driftsands?

Complaints & top issues

Municipal debt in Driftsands

What services are near Driftsands?

Healthcare access

Fire station

Public swimming pools

Nearby suburbs

Similar suburbs

Bordering suburbs

Related articles

Help us improve Driftsands

Get updates for Driftsands

Taxi connectivity