Leiden has a safety index of 4 out of 100 (Higher reported crime). This is a relative measure comparing reported crime across Cape Town suburbs, not an absolute safety guarantee. The Delft precinct recorded approximately 39,268 crimes in the most recent annual period. Absolute crime volume is above the city average.

Is Leiden affordable?

Leiden is among the more affordable suburbs in Cape Town. With a median property value of R170K, it falls in the 1st 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.

Leiden

Safety 4/100 Safer than 2% of Cape Town suburbs (relative) Property 0-200k Top 99% Schools 5 89% matric pass rate Healthcare 11 facilities more access than most suburbs Council Below avg complaints 2d median resolution Transport Minibus taxi coverage well-connected area

Data current as of March 2026

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Leiden 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. There is a place of worship in the area. The dominant commuter mode is minibus taxi. Policing falls under the Delft SAPS precinct.

How is the area changing?

In Leiden, crime levels are stable based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property values have grown above inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

Leiden is well-served by schools, and matric results sit slightly below the city average. 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 Leiden safe?

Higher reported crime

Higher crime Moderate Lower crime

32nd percentile among 744 suburbs · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Very high Absolute crime volume

39 268 reported crimes per year · city median: 10 468

↑ 2.2% vs Q3 2024

Crime is higher than most of Cape Town. 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? 4 / 100

Contact crime rate 2,839,698 per 100k residents

Station population 216 782

Harm rate (per resident) 8/100

Harm volume (absolute) 2/100

Data period Q3 2025/2026 (Oct–Dec 2025)

Source SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0

This data reflects crimes reported to SAPS Delft precinct, which covers Leiden 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 Leiden?

1st percentile

The median property value in Leiden is R170K. Property values have grown by 6.9% per year since 2018.

A 6.9% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.

Value band distribution – Leiden properties (GV2022)

0-200k ◀

2-400k

4-600k

6-800k

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 R170,000

Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022) +6.9% per year ↑ Growing

City-wide value percentile 1st percentile

Dominant value band 0-200k

Source CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

FOR PARENTS

How are schools in Leiden?

5 schools nearby

Leiden has 5 schools within reach. The area matric pass rate is 88.8%, below the city median of 90.0%. Schools include Leiden Junior High School.

Adjusted pass rate

88.8%

City median: 90.0%

Schools contributing

160 candidates

Median quintile

Q4-Q5

–

Leiden Junior High School

Public · Grades 8–12 · 816 learners · 38.9:1 learner-educator ratio

Leiden Secondary School

Public · Grades 8–12 · 935 learners · 24.6:1 learner-educator ratio

Favourable class size

Leiden Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 966 learners · 34.5:1 learner-educator ratio

Leiden Avenue Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 1,485 learners · 37.1:1 learner-educator ratio

Kairos Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 1,370 learners · 38.1:1 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 Leiden?

Taxi-connected

Leiden has 32 minibus taxi routes, including routes to the CBD. The most common way people get to work is by minibus taxi (54%).

Taxi connectivity

Well connected

32 routes

80th percentile · 30 destinations · CBD-connected

Bellville, Cape town, Cape town (via n2 & main rd), Delft, Delft south, Eindhoven +24 more

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

Commute mode share

Minibus taxis are the primary transport mode. The 54% share reflects a working-class commuter profile – taxi connectivity is a critical economic lifeline, not a lifestyle choice.

Private vehicle

15%

Walking

21%

MyCiTi bus

Minibus taxi

54%

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 Minibus taxi (54%)

Source CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Leiden?

Partial service delivery

Leiden has a service delivery index of 77.7 out of 100, below the city median of 84.5. 63% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey , Delft survey group (51 households). direct.

Food insecurity affects 27% of households - 1.5× the city average

› Adult food insecurity (27.3%) is 1.5× the city average of 18.3%.› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R315) is 0.2× the city median of R1,674.› Mobile-dependent: 65% of households rely on mobile data as their primary internet access.› 19% of households have experienced flooding, indicating elevated environmental vulnerability.› Violent crime victimisation reported by 11% of households (distinct from SAPS-reported statistics).

Food security

Adult food insecurity

27.3%

City median: 18.3%

Child food insecurity

29.7%

City median: 13.0%

Food insecurity prevalence

23.1%

City median: 22.3%

Access to basic services

78 City median: 85

Piped water

77.6%

Flush toilet

76.5%

Weekly refuse

73.4%

Grid electricity

83.3%

Housing & tenure – Informal or family-compound housing

63 City median: 68

Formal dwellings

62.9%

Owner-occupied

30.8%

Rented

16.4%

Environmental risk – Elevated risk exposure

39 risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26

Flooding risk

18.6%

Fire risk

9.9%

Violent crime

10.7%

Non-violent crime

0.0%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share

48.5%

Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Under pressure, limited discretionary income · 25th percentile

Hardship dimensions

Areas of material need (out of 8)

Grant income share

46.0%

of households receiving grants

Monthly savings

R17

Weighted mean per household

Spending priorities – top priority: Food

Food

83.6%

of households prioritise

Electricity

47.9%

of households prioritise

School fees

30.0%

of households prioritise

Petrol/transport

24.8%

of households prioritise

Debt repayment

15.9%

of households prioritise

Digital inclusion – Mobile-dependent suburb

Home fibre

14.3%

City median: 46.5%

Mobile only

64.8%

No access

13.2%

Demographics & community

Avg household size

3.8 people

Avg children per household

1.4

Asset ownership

Computer access

10.8%

Fridge ownership

80.1%

Property ownership

0.0%

Geyser ownership

0.0%

Borehole access

0.0%

Home-based economy

Home-based business

7.3%

of households operate a home-based business

WFH full-time

2.4%

WFH part-time

1.1%

How Leiden compares

Food insecurity 49% above the city average for adult food insecurity

Material hardship 7% below the city average for material hardship

Income 50% below the city average for median household income

Food spend share 37% above the city average for food expenditure share

Household survey victimisation rates significantly exceed SAPS-reported crime for this area, suggesting substantial under-reporting.

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

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Leiden?

Responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Leiden in a median of 2 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 7,317 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.

Median days to resolve
City median: 1

32nd

Percentile
across Cape Town

12%

Resolved
same day

Sewerage overflow (17%)Stolen Bins - 240L (16%)Damaged Bin - 240L (8%)Leak at meter/stopcock 20mm below (7%)Street lights out (7%)

Service requests logged 7 317

Requests resolved 83% (6 038 of 7 317)

75% resolved within 5 days

90% resolved within 15 days

Source CCT service request database

Community & faith

Places of worship

1 registered

Christian

Registered places of worship per suburb from City of Cape Town open data. Coverage: 299 of 744 suburbs.

Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Below city average

Complaint rate How is this calculated? 0.0 per 1,000 households

Total complaints 7 262

Unresolved 17.0%

Top issues: SEW: Blocked/Overflow (1 238), Stolen Bins - 240L (1 154), Damaged Bin - 240L (603)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Leiden?

Well served

Healthcare access

11 within 5km

Nearest public Wesbank Clinic · Community Day Centre · 2 km

Nearest private Netcare Kuils River Hospital · Private Hospital · 6.7 km

Public facilities 11

Private facilities 0

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

The nearest fire station to Leiden is Belhar, 2.0 km away. The nearest public pool is Delft Swimming Pool, 0.7 km away. The nearest clinic is Wesbank Clinic, 2.0 km away.

Nearest clinic Wesbank Clinic · 2 km

Nearest library Delft · 0.6 km

Nearest park / open space Jan Dissels Road Park · 0.07 km