Skip to main content

Driftsands

Safety 9/100 Safer than 8% of Cape Town suburbs (relative) Property 0-200k Top 94% Schools 3 nearby Healthcare 17 facilities more access than most suburbs Council Below avg complaints 3d median resolution Transport Minibus taxi coverage well-connected area

Data current as of

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 below the city average for reported safety. Policing falls under the Mfuleni SAPS precinct.

How is the area changing?

In Driftsands, crime is rising 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

54th percentile among 744 suburbs · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Very high Absolute crime volume
33 764 reported crimes per year · city median: 10 468
↑ 14.6% 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? 9 / 100
Contact crime rate 2,738,761 per 100k residents
Station population 239 187
Harm rate (per resident) 18/100
Harm volume (absolute) 5/100
Data period Q3 2025/2026 (Oct–Dec 2025)
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 · Q3 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)

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

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

Read more: Cape Town property values 2026: what the municipal data shows

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 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 ›

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.
3
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: SEW: Blocked/Overflow (118), Street Lights - All Lights Out (49), WMM: Leak at Meter/Stopcock 20mm below (42)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

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
2
pools
within 5 km
8
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

Similar suburbs

Fairdale R0-200k
9 →
Lwandle R0-200k
9 →
Nomzamo R0-200k
9 →
Joe Slovo Park R0-200k
7 →
Fountain Village R2-400k
9 →
Explore surrounding areas

Bordering suburbs

23 adjacent

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

Barnet Molokwana Corner Brentwood Park Blue Downs Delft South Dreamworld Eindhoven Fairdale Forest Village Highgate Hillcrest Heights Macassar Malibu Village Mandela Park Mfuleni Monwabisi Mxolisi Phetani Nonqubela Philippi Rotterdam Sabata Dalindyebo Square Silversands Silvertown Khayelitsha Thembokwezi Umrhabulo Triangle
Further reading

Related articles

Is Delft South Safe? 20/100 Safety Score (2026)
2026-04-24
Is Mandela Park Safe? 5/100 Safety Score (2026)
2026-04-24
Is Mfuleni Safe? 43/100 Safety Score (2026)
2026-04-24
Is Philippi Safe? 99/100 Safety Score (2026)
2026-04-24
Building on this data? Access all 744 suburbs via the free REST API or explore commercial access.
Explore rankings: Safest suburbs Best for families Affordable + safe

Some metrics for this suburb use estimated values. Full methodology ›

Driftsands · -34.0151°S, 18.6752°E

Open full map ›