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Witsand

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

Data current as of

What's it like to live here?

Witsand is a neighbourhood in Northern Suburbs, Cape Town, where property values place it among the more affordable areas in Cape Town. 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 Witsand, crime is rising based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property values have grown above inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

Witsand is served by schools within reach. In this area, service complaint resolution takes around a week on average. 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 Witsand safe?

Higher reported crime

78th percentile among 744 suburbs · based on precinct-level data shared with 12 suburbs · Data: Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026) · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

HighAbsolute crime volume
6 772 reported crimes per year · city median: 4 280
↑ 15.0% vs Q3 2024
Crime is higher than most of Cape Town and has been increasing 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?
32 / 100
Contact crime rate
448,512 per 100k residents
Station population
50 494
Harm rate (per resident)
27/100
Harm volume (absolute)
39/100
Data period
Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026)
Source
SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0

This data reflects crimes reported to SAPS Atlantis precinct, which covers Witsand 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 Witsand?

3rd percentile

The median property value in Witsand is R230K. Property values have grown by 17.7% per year since 2018.

A 17.7% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.
Value band distribution – Witsand 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
R230,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022)
+17.7% per year↑ Growing
City-wide value percentile
3rd 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 Witsand?

Computed from City of Cape Town billing data
Water
R62 / month
91% below city median
Electricity
This area is supplied by Eskom. City of Cape Town electricity billing data is not available.
Water trend:Dec 2025: R62Jan 2026: R50Feb 2026: R92

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

INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Development activity in Witsand

↓ Decreasing

Witsand had 1 building plans approved in the last three financial years (FY22/23 to FY24/25), averaging 0 per year. Most were renovations and extensions.

3-year approvals
1
Annual average
0/yr
Avg project value
R318K

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 Witsand?

1 school nearby

Witsand has 1 school within reach. Schools include Witsand Primary School.

Matric results: pass rate data currently covers 157 of 744 suburbs.Witsand will surface when DBE suburb-level data is processed in the next pipeline run. About coverage ›
  • Q4
    Witsand Primary School
    Public · Grades R–7 · 954 learners · 36.7:1 learner-educator ratio

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 Witsand?

Vehicle-led mix

Witsand has 13 minibus taxi routes, including routes to the CBD. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (39%).

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 ›

Moderate connectivity
13 routes
54th percentile · 15 destinations · CBD-connected
Atlantis, Atlantis(wesfleur), Bellville, Cape town, Cape town (via killarney), Darling +9 more
Based on CCT minibus taxi route data. Routes matched by name and spatial proximity (500m). Methodology ›

Commute mode share

A mixed transport profile. Multiple modes serve Witsand – consider proximity to work when evaluating.
Private vehicle
39%
Walking
23%
MyCiTi bus
18%
Minibus taxi
20%
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 (39%)
Source
CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Witsand?

Limited service delivery

Witsand has a service delivery index of 60 out of 100, below the city median of 84.5. 27% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey, Witsand survey group (48 households). direct.

› Adult food insecurity (25.5%) is 1.4× the city average of 18.3%.› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R433) is 0.3× the city median of R1,674.› Mobile-dependent: 66% of households rely on mobile data as their primary internet access.› 14% of households have experienced flooding, indicating elevated environmental vulnerability.› 57% of dwellings are informal structures, reflecting historical under-investment in formal housing provision.

Food security

Adult food insecurity
25.5%
City median: 18.3%
Child food insecurity
15.0%
City median: 13.0%
Food insecurity prevalence
28.7%
City median: 22.3%

Access to basic services

60City median: 85
Piped water
31.4%
Flush toilet
64.7%
Weekly refuse
58.4%
Grid electricity
87.2%

Housing & tenure – Informal or family-compound housing

27City median: 68
Formal dwellings
27.0%
Owner-occupied
12.9%
Rented
26.3%

Environmental risk – Moderate risk exposure

20risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26
Flooding risk
14.1%
Fire risk
3.1%
Violent crime
0.0%
Non-violent crime
0.0%

Economic structure – Significant material pressure

Food spending share
38.6%
Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Comfortable, moderate discretionary income · 48th percentile
Hardship dimensions
2
Areas of material need (out of 8)
Grant income share
40.0%
of households receiving grants
Monthly savings
R435
Weighted mean per household

Digital inclusion – Mobile-dependent suburb

Home fibre
15.7%
City median: 46.5%
Mobile only
66.0%
No access
9.0%

Demographics & community

Avg household size
3.1 people
Avg children per household
0.9

Asset ownership

Computer access
16.0%
Fridge ownership
81.4%
Property ownership
0.0%
Geyser ownership
3.8%
Borehole access
1.9%

Home-based economy

Home-based business
8.4%
of households operate a home-based business
WFH part-time
1.4%

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

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Witsand?

Moderate

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Witsand in a median of 4 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 1,741 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data
Below-average municipal responsiveness. A 4-day median resolution is slower than the city median – infrastructure complaints take meaningfully longer to resolve.
4
Median days to resolve
City median: 1
7th
Percentile
across Cape Town
6%
Resolved
same day
Sewerage overflow (28%)Stolen Bins - 240L (15%)Damaged Bin - 240L (9%)Faulty cistern (4%)Other (3%)
Service requests logged
1 741
Requests resolved
82% (1 422 of 1 741)
75% resolved within
10 days
90% resolved within
17 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
1 687
Unresolved
19.0%

Top issues: Sewerage overflow (473), Stolen Bins - 240L (263), Damaged Bin - 240L (154)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

MUNICIPAL FINANCE

Municipal debt in Witsand

31% below city median
Computed from City of Cape Town financial data

Municipal debt in Witsand averages R6 089 per account, compared to the city median of R8 815.

R6 089
per account
31% below city median
Trend:Mar 2026: R5 841Apr 2026: R6 089May 2026: R6 334
Breakdown as of May 2026
Property rates
R492 857
Electricity
R0
Water
R3 415 800
Refuse
R377 748
Sewerage
R1 645 524
City-wide cleaning
R9 613
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 Witsand?

Some services nearby

Healthcare access

3 within 5km
Nearest public
Protea Park Clinic · Clinic · 1.4 km
Nearest private
Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital · Private Hospital · 24.1 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 Witsand is Atlantis, 1.9 km away. The nearest public pool is Atlantis or Wesfleur Swimming Pool, 3.5 km away. The nearest clinic is Protea Park Clinic, 1.4 km away.

Nearest clinic
Protea Park Clinic · 1.4 km
Nearest library
Avondale · 2.6 km
Nearest park / open space
Azalea Greenbelt · 0.98 km

Fire station

1.9
km to nearest
fire station
Atlantis
community station
within-5km
response
category

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

Public swimming pools

3.5
km to nearest
public pool
1
pools
within 5 km
1
pools
within 10 km
Nearest pool
Atlantis or Wesfleur 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

Protea Park - Wesfleur1.6km · R420K
35
Robinvale2.2km · R520K
41
Saxonwood2.6km
Avondale - Wesfleur2.9km · R540K
39
Beacon Hill3.2km · R680K
Explore surrounding areas

Bordering suburbs

3 adjacent

Suburbs that border or sit adjacent to Witsand. 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.