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What's it like to live here?

Richwood is a neighbourhood in Northern Suburbs, Cape Town, where property values are moderate by Cape Town standards. The area's safety profile is below the city average for reported safety. The dominant commuter mode is private vehicle.

How is the area changing?

In Richwood, crime is declining based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property value growth has lagged behind inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

Richwood is served by schools within reach. In this area, service complaints are generally resolved within a few days. The suburb has several healthcare facilities within reasonable distance.

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 Richwood safe?

Moderate reported crime

88th percentile among 744 suburbs · based on precinct-level data shared with 8 suburbs · Data: Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026) · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Very lowAbsolute crime volume
1 128 reported crimes per year · city median: 4 280
↓ 13.5% vs Q3 2024
Crime sits in the middle range for Cape Town. Contact crime (assault, robbery) dominates the reported crime profile.

Detailed data

Safety index (resident-adjusted) How is this calculated?
44 / 100
Contact crime rate
138,721 per 100k residents
Station population
26 575
Harm rate (per resident)
35/100
Harm volume (absolute)
56/100
Data period
Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026)
Source
SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0

This data reflects crimes reported to SAPS Bothasig precinct, which covers Richwood 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 Richwood?

44th percentile

The median property value in Richwood is R1.6M. Property values have grown by 3.3% per year since 2018.

A 3.3% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.
Value band distribution – Richwood properties (GV2022)

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
R1,550,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022)
+3.3% per year↑ Growing
City-wide value percentile
44th percentile
Dominant value band
1-1.5M
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 Richwood?

Computed from City of Cape Town billing data
Water
R813 / month
24% above city median
Electricity
This area is supplied by Eskom. City of Cape Town electricity billing data is not available.
Water trend:Dec 2025: R910Jan 2026: R794Feb 2026: R813

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

INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Development activity in Richwood

↑ Increasing

Richwood had 35 building plans approved in the last three financial years (FY22/23 to FY24/25), averaging 12 per year. Most were renovations and extensions.

3-year approvals
35
Annual average
12/yr
Avg project value
R473K

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 Richwood?

1 school nearby

Richwood has 1 school within reach. Schools include Oakview Academy.

Matric results: pass rate data currently covers 157 of 744 suburbs.Richwood will surface when DBE suburb-level data is processed in the next pipeline run. About coverage ›
  • IND
    Oakview Academy
    Independent · Grades R–7 · 96 learners · 16:1 learner-educator ratio
    PrivateFavourable class size

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 Richwood?

Private vehicle dominant

Richwood has 6 minibus taxi routes. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (97%).

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 ›

Limited connectivity
6 routes
28th percentile · 7 destinations
Bellville, Du noon, Koeberg station, Langa station, Mutual station, Richwood +1 more
Based on CCT minibus taxi route data. Routes matched by name and spatial proximity (500m). Methodology ›

Commute mode share

Anyone relocating to Richwood needs a car. The 97% private vehicle share is a socioeconomic profile signal, not a walkability score – in working-class Cape Town suburbs the same walking rate indicates structural necessity. Here it is lifestyle choice.
Private vehicle
97%
Walking
1%
Cape Town transport context: In South African cities, transport mode is a socioeconomic proxy – high private vehicle = affluent, high minibus taxi = working class, high walking = structural necessity not preference. StreetSignal reports modal share rather than a walkability index, which would misrepresent SA urban mobility. Methodology ›
Dominant mode
Private vehicle (97%)
Source
CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Richwood?

Full municipal services

Richwood has a service delivery index of 99+ out of 100, above the city median of 84.5. 100% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey, Richwood survey group (40 households). direct.

› Zero households report hunger or food deprivation across all measured dimensions.› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R7,951) is 4.7× the city median of R1,674.› No material deprivation recorded across any of the 8 measured dimensions.› High digital connectivity: 98% of households have home internet access.

Access to basic services

99+City median: 85
Piped water
100.0%
Flush toilet
100.0%
Weekly refuse
100.0%
Grid electricity
100.0%

Housing & tenure – Informal or family-compound housing

100City median: 68
Formal dwellings
100.0%
Owner-occupied
30.0%
Rented
35.0%

Environmental risk – Low risk exposure

10risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26
Flooding risk
2.5%
Fire risk
0.0%
Violent crime
0.0%
Non-violent crime
7.5%

Economic structure – Low material stress

Food spending share
25.3%
Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Comfortable, moderate discretionary income · 84th percentile
Hardship dimensions
0
Areas of material need (out of 8)
Grant income share
2.0%
of households receiving grants
Monthly savings
R850
Weighted mean per household

Digital inclusion – Fibre-connected suburb

Home fibre
97.5%
City median: 46.5%
Mobile only
2.5%
No access
0.0%

Food security

Adult food insecurity
0.0%
City median: 18.3%
Child food insecurity
0.0%
City median: 13.0%
Food insecurity prevalence
0.0%
City median: 22.3%

Demographics & community

Avg household size
2.5 people
Avg children per household
0.6

Asset ownership

Computer access
92.5%
Fridge ownership
100.0%
Property ownership
0.0%
Geyser ownership
95.0%
Borehole access
10.0%

Home-based economy

Home-based business
2.5%
of households operate a home-based business
WFH full-time
12.5%
WFH part-time
2.5%

Source: City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey. Survey group: Richwood. direct.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Richwood?

Responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Richwood in a median of 2 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 1,835 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data
Below-average municipal responsiveness. A 2-day median resolution is slower than the city median – infrastructure complaints take meaningfully longer to resolve.
2
Median days to resolve
City median: 1
39th
Percentile
across Cape Town
28%
Resolved
same day
Damaged Bin - 240L (6%)Customer reconnection request (6%)Stolen Bins - 240L (5%)Customer : Reconnection Request (5%)Single street light out (5%)
Service requests logged
1 835
Requests resolved
78% (1 439 of 1 835)
75% resolved within
5 days
90% resolved within
13 days
Source
CCT service request database
Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Below city average
Complaint rate How is this calculated?
870.8 per 1,000 households
Total complaints
1 827
Unresolved
22.0%

Top issues: Damaged Bin - 240L (107), Customer reconnection request (103), Stolen Bins - 240L (99)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

MUNICIPAL FINANCE

Municipal debt in Richwood

16% above city median
Computed from City of Cape Town financial data

Municipal debt in Richwood averages R10 268 per account, compared to the city median of R8 815.

R10 268
per account
16% above city median
Trend:Mar 2026: R9 802Apr 2026: R10 381May 2026: R10 268
Breakdown as of May 2026
Property rates
R5 491 106
Electricity
R0
Water
R3 013 539
Refuse
R936 793
Sewerage
R1 115 612
City-wide cleaning
R183 560
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 Richwood?

Some services nearby

Healthcare access

3 within 5km
Nearest public
Du Noon Clinic · Clinic · 1.5 km
Nearest private
Mediclinic Milnerton · Private Hospital · 5 km
Public facilities
3
Private facilities
0

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

The nearest fire station to Richwood is Milnerton, 3.3 km away. The nearest public pool is Parow North Swimming Pool, 7.6 km away. The nearest clinic is Du Noon Clinic, 1.5 km away.

Nearest clinic
Du Noon Clinic · 1.5 km
Nearest library
Du Noon · 2.2 km
Nearest park / open space
Rustenberg Park · 0.16 km

Fire station

3.3
km to nearest
fire station
Milnerton
divisional hq
within-5km
response
category

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

Public swimming pools

7.6
km to nearest
public pool
0
pools
within 5 km
5
pools
within 10 km
Nearest pool
Parow North 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

Burgundy Estate1.0km · R2.4M
Annandale Farm1.0km
Killarney Gardens1.1km
Richmond Park1.2km
Dunoon1.7km · R370K
14
Explore surrounding areas

Bordering suburbs

4 adjacent

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

Data as of: Safety: Q4 2025/2026 | Property: GV2022 | Schools: EMIS Q2 2025 | Household: CCT Survey Feb-Oct 2024 | Facilities: March 2026 | Water billing: Dec 2020 - Feb 2026 | Municipal arrears: Jan 2025 - May 2026

Next refresh: when SAPS publishes Q1 2026/2027 (typically about 3 months after the period closes).

Data sources & legal attribution
SAPS Crime StatsCCT Open DataStats SADBE SchoolsCCT Household SurveyCCT Service Requests

South African Police Service, via DataFirst (UCT). SAPS crime statistics, 2019-2026 [dataset]. DOI: 10.25828/5MAW-4H90. CC-BY 4.0.

City of Cape Town. City of Cape Town open data, 2022–2025 [dataset]. CCT Open Data Policy 27781.

Statistics South Africa. Stats SA Census 2022, 2022 [dataset]. Stats SA standard terms (permissive). Analysis is the user's own and not endorsed by Stats SA.

Department of Basic Education, EMIS (Western Cape Q2 2025; Gauteng Q3 2025). DBE EMIS masterlist and public school data, 2023-2025 [dataset]. Source. CC-BY 4.0.

City of Cape Town. CCT Household Survey 2024, 2024 [dataset]. CCT Open Data Policy 27781.

City of Cape Town. CCT Service Requests (C3), 2025–2026 [dataset]. CCT Open Data Policy 27781.

Spot an error or have a correction? Email [email protected].

Building on this data? Access all 744 suburbs via the free REST API or explore commercial access.

This map is available on desktop browsers. For assistance interpreting location data, email usor visit the data sources page.