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Clifton

Safety 99/100 Safer than 54% of Cape Town suburbs (relative) Property 10-15M Top 0% Healthcare 3 facilities moderate access Council Above avg complaints 1d median resolution Transport Minibus taxi coverage well-connected area

Data current as of

This area has far more visitors than residents, which affects how crime rates are calculated. Learn more ›
#2 Safest Suburbs

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Clifton is a neighbourhood in Atlantic Seaboard, Cape Town, where property values sit in the upper quartile for Cape Town. The area's safety profile is among the more challenging areas for reported safety in Cape Town. The dominant commuter mode is private vehicle. Policing falls under the Camps Bay SAPS precinct.

How is the area changing?

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

What should buyers know?

School and matric pass rate data is limited for Clifton. In this area, the City typically resolves service complaints promptly. 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 Clifton safe?

Lower reported crime

46th percentile among 744 suburbs · volume-based score (tourist precinct adjustment) · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Very low Absolute crime volume
1 220 reported crimes per year · city median: 10 468
↑ 1.2% vs Q3 2024
Clifton is a tourist precinct. The headline score reflects absolute crime volume only - 99/100 - because the per-capita rate is distorted by a small residential population serving a much larger visitor population. Actual crime volume is very low - just 1 220 per year, well below the city median of 10 468. For residents, this is one of the quieter parts of Cape Town. Contact crime (assault, robbery) dominates the reported crime profile.

Detailed data

Headline score (volume-based) Why volume-based? 99 / 100
Composite score (rate x volume) How is this calculated? 46 / 100
Contact crime rate 40,166 per 100k residents
Station population 4 296
Harm rate (per resident) 21/100
Harm volume (absolute) 99/100
Data period Q3 2025/2026 (Oct–Dec 2025)
Source SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0
Precinct population note: This suburb shares Camps Bay police precinct with Camps Bay, which accounts for 74% of the precinct's residential population. The safety index is based on the whole precinct, where Camps Bay accounts for most of the population. This may not fully reflect conditions in Clifton specifically.

Household survey context: Household survey data indicates 1.9% of households in Clifton report violent crime victimisation and 2.3% report non-violent crime victimisation (2024 CCT Household Survey). These figures reflect residents' lived experience, independent of SAPS precinct boundaries.

Tourist-precinct adjustment. The headline score uses the volume sub-index (99/100) instead of the composite (46/100). Clifton's per-capita crime rate is calculated against a small resident population, but the SAPS precinct serves far more visitors than residents. The composite punishes Clifton for a high per-capita rate that is an artefact of the small population denominator. The volume sub-index measures absolute crime only and is not affected by this distortion. Both scores are shown in the data table for transparency. Full methodology.

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

Disagree with this score? Challenge the methodology ›

Source: SAPS via DataFirst · Q3 2025/2026

FOR BUYERS & INVESTORS

What do properties cost in Clifton?

100th percentile

The median property value in Clifton is R26.1M. Property values have grown by 1.6% per year since 2018.

A 1.6% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.
Value band distribution – Clifton 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 R26,050,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022) +1.6% per year
City-wide value percentile 100th percentile
Dominant value band 10-15M
Source CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

Source: DBE EMIS · Q2 2025

FOR COMMUTERS

How connected is Clifton?

Private vehicle dominant

Clifton has 8 minibus taxi routes, including routes to the CBD. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (94%).

Taxi connectivity Ranks 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
8 routes
39th percentile · 9 destinations · CBD-connected
Camps bay, Camps bay (via high level rd), Camps bay (via main rd), Camps bay (via western blvd), Cape town, Hout bay +3 more
Based on CCT minibus taxi route data. Routes matched by name and spatial proximity (500m). Methodology ›

Commute mode share

Anyone relocating to Clifton needs a car. The 94% 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
94%
Walking
6%
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 (94%)
Source CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Clifton?

Full municipal services

Clifton has a service delivery index of 99.9 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 , Camps Bay/Clifton survey group (73 households). direct.

Zero households report food insecurity across all measured dimensions
› Zero households report hunger or food deprivation across all measured dimensions.› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R9,325) is 5.6× the city median of R1,674.› High digital connectivity: 87% of households have home internet access.

Access to basic services

100 City median: 85
Piped water
99.6%
Flush toilet
100.0%
Weekly refuse
100.0%
Grid electricity
100.0%

Housing & tenure – Transient or rental-dominated

100 City median: 68
Formal dwellings
100.0%
Owner-occupied
30.6%
Rented
50.9%

Environmental risk – Moderate risk exposure

16 risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26
Flooding risk
1.9%
Fire risk
1.9%
Violent crime
1.9%
Non-violent crime
2.3%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share
23.0%
Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Comfortable, moderate discretionary income · 91st percentile
Hardship dimensions
0
Areas of material need (out of 8)
Grant income share
2.0%
of households receiving grants
Monthly savings
R3,911
Weighted mean per household

Spending priorities – top priority: Food

Food
60.5%
of households prioritise
Petrol/transport
59.4%
of households prioritise
Electricity
49.5%
of households prioritise
School fees
16.6%
of households prioritise
Rent/bond
12.2%
of households prioritise

Digital inclusion – Fibre-connected suburb

Home fibre
86.7%
City median: 46.5%
Mobile only
10.4%
No access
2.4%

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
2.2 people
Avg children per household
0.3

Asset ownership

Computer access
89.3%
Fridge ownership
100.0%
Property ownership
6.6%
Geyser ownership
96.9%
Borehole access
28.6%

Home-based economy

Home-based business
12.2%
of households operate a home-based business
WFH full-time
2.4%
WFH part-time
1.9%

How Clifton compares

Food insecurity 100% below the city average for adult food insecurity
Material hardship 93% below the city average for material hardship
Income 4.0× the city average for median household income
Food spend share 35% below the city average for food expenditure share

Source: City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey. Survey group: Camps Bay/Clifton. direct.

Energy access
1%
Free basic electricity
5.6%
City median

1% of electricity connections in Clifton receive free basic electricity under the City's indigent support programme. Free basic electricity is a constitutional entitlement providing a monthly allocation to qualifying households. The proportion reflects the reach of the City's indigent support in this suburb, not a measure of poverty.

Source: CCT prepaid electricity data (2025/11/30 to 2026/01/31). Covers prepaid connections only. Credit-metered households are not included. 717 connections.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Clifton?

Highly responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Clifton in a median of 1 day, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 2,245 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data
Infrastructure problems get fixed fast. The median resolution under one day means Clifton residents experience responsive municipal service – a signal of well-maintained infrastructure and efficient complaint routing.
1
Median days to resolve
City median: 1
59th
Percentile
across Cape Town
31%
Resolved
same day
Sewerage overflow (11%)Meter Replacement Project (9%)Single street light out (7%)Water leak (5%)Power outage (5%)
Service requests logged 2 245
Requests resolved 70% (1 562 of 2 245)
75% resolved within 5 days
90% resolved within 17 days
Source CCT service request database
Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Above city average
Complaint rate How is this calculated? 4001.8 per 1,000 households
Total complaints 2 237
Unresolved 30.0%

Top issues: SEW: Blocked/Overflow (246), Meter Replacement Project (192), Street Lights - Single Light Out (155)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Clifton?

Well served

Healthcare access

3 within 5km
Nearest public Schotscheskloof Satellite · Community Day Centre · 4 km
Nearest private Mediclinic Cape Town · Private Hospital · 3.1 km
Public facilities 1
Private facilities 2

This suburb has access to both public and private healthcare within 5 km.

The nearest fire station to Clifton is Sea Point, 2.4 km away. The nearest public pool is Sea Point Swimming Pool, 2.4 km away. The nearest clinic is Mediclinic Cape Town, 3.1 km away.

Nearest clinic Mediclinic Cape Town · 3.1 km
Nearest library Camps Bay · 1.7 km
Nearest park / open space Clifton Greenbelt · 0.04 km

Fire station

2.4
km to nearest
fire station
Sea Point
community station
within-5km
response
category

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

Public swimming pools

2.4
km to nearest
public pool
2
pools
within 5 km
5
pools
within 10 km
Nearest pool Sea Point 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

Read more: Cape Town swimming pools: which suburbs have access

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Explore surrounding areas

Bordering suburbs

3 adjacent

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

Bantry Bay Camps Bay Signal Hill Lions Head
Further reading

Related articles

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2026-03-12
Is Bantry Bay Safe? 49/100 Safety Score (2026)
2026-04-16
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Clifton · -33.9384°S, 18.3765°E

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