Mowbray has a safety index of 35 out of 100 (Moderate reported crime). This is a relative measure comparing reported crime across Cape Town suburbs, not an absolute safety guarantee. The Mowbray precinct recorded approximately 1,368 crimes in the most recent annual period. Absolute crime volume is below the city average.

Is Mowbray affordable?

Mowbray is among the higher-value suburbs in Cape Town. The median property value of R3.2M places it in the 79th percentile, above 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.

Mowbray

Safety 35/100 Safer than 40% of Cape Town suburbs (relative) Property 2-2.5M Top 21% Schools 4 90% matric pass rate Healthcare 25 facilities more access than most suburbs Council Above avg complaints 2d median resolution Transport Minibus taxi coverage well-connected area

Data current as of March 2026

#4 Most Improved

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Mowbray is a neighbourhood in Southern Suburbs, 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. There are several places of worship in the area. The dominant commuter mode is private vehicle. Policing falls under the Mowbray SAPS precinct.

How is the area changing?

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

What should buyers know?

Mowbray is served by schools within reach, 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 Mowbray safe?

Moderate reported crime

Higher crime Moderate Lower crime

8th percentile among 744 suburbs · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Very low Absolute crime volume

1 368 reported crimes per year · city median: 10 468

↓ 17.4% 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? 35 / 100

Contact crime rate 77,752 per 100k residents

Station population 6 642

Harm rate (per resident) 13/100

Harm volume (absolute) 95/100

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

Source SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0

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

79th percentile

Planned development

45 hectares of land in Mowbray are earmarked for new development across 1 parcel, primarily Low Density Residential (45ha).

Source: CCT District Spatial Development Framework (January 2023). Development areas indicate planning designation, not construction timelines.

The median property value in Mowbray is R3.2M. Property values have grown by 1.5% per year since 2018.

A 1.5% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.

Value band distribution – Mowbray properties (GV2022)

800k-1M

1-1.5M

1.5-2M

2-2.5M ◀

2.5-3M

3-3.5M

3.5-4M

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 R3,230,000

Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022) +1.5% per year

City-wide value percentile 79th percentile

Dominant value band 2-2.5M

Source CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

FOR PARENTS

How are schools in Mowbray?

4 schools nearby

Mowbray has 4 schools within reach. The area matric pass rate is 89.8%, below the city median of 90.0%. Schools include Hillcrest School.

Adjusted pass rate

89.8%

City median: 90.0%

Schools contributing

454 candidates

Median quintile

Q4-Q5

IND

Hillcrest School

Independent · Grades R–7 · 166 learners · 20.8:1 learner-educator ratio

PrivateNo-fee schoolFavourable class size

IND

St. George'S Grammar School

Independent · Grades R–12 · 403 learners · 8.8:1 learner-educator ratio

PrivateQuintile 5School fees applyFavourable class size

Thandokhulu Secondary School

Public · Grades 8–12 · 1,273 learners · 35.4:1 learner-educator ratio

Rhodes High School

Public · Grades 8–12 · 1,014 learners · 24.1:1 learner-educator ratio

Quintile 5School fees applyFavourable 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 Mowbray?

Private vehicle dominant

Mowbray has 155 minibus taxi routes, including routes to the CBD. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (69%).

Taxi connectivity

Well connected

155 routes

99th percentile · 64 destinations · CBD-connected

Athlone, Athlone (via m5, ottery rd, rosmead, milner & klipfontein), Bellville, Bellville (via n2, cape town, n1, & durban rd), Bellville (via n2, cape town, n1, vanguard dr & voortrekker rd), Bonteheuwel +58 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 Mowbray – consider proximity to work when evaluating.

Private vehicle

69%

Walking

Minibus taxi

18%

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 (69%)

Source CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Mowbray?

Full municipal services

Mowbray has a service delivery index of 97.1 out of 100, above the city median of 84.5. 99% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey , Mowbray/Observatory survey group (79 households). direct.

12% of households report adult food insecurity

› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R4,640) is 2.8× the city median of R1,674.› High digital connectivity: 82% of households have home internet access.

Access to basic services

97 City median: 85

Piped water

93.3%

Flush toilet

100.0%

Weekly refuse

95.0%

Grid electricity

100.0%

Housing & tenure – Transient or rental-dominated

99 City median: 68

Formal dwellings

99.2%

Owner-occupied

30.3%

Rented

58.6%

Environmental risk – Low risk exposure

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

Flooding risk

0.0%

Fire risk

0.0%

Violent crime

0.0%

Non-violent crime

4.2%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share

23.1%

Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Comfortable, moderate discretionary income · 91st percentile

Hardship dimensions

Areas of material need (out of 8)

Grant income share

9.0%

of households receiving grants

Monthly savings

R638

Weighted mean per household

Spending priorities – top priority: Food

Food

74.0%

of households prioritise

Electricity

66.5%

of households prioritise

Petrol/transport

45.4%

of households prioritise

Rent/bond

39.4%

of households prioritise

School fees

20.9%

of households prioritise

Digital inclusion – Fibre-connected suburb

Home fibre

81.5%

City median: 46.5%

Mobile only

14.2%

No access

3.4%

Food security

Adult food insecurity

11.8%

City median: 18.3%

Child food insecurity

4.2%

City median: 13.0%

Food insecurity prevalence

30.2%

City median: 22.3%

Demographics & community

Avg household size

2.1 people

Avg children per household

0.3

Asset ownership

Computer access

63.1%

Fridge ownership

96.7%

Property ownership

3.3%

Geyser ownership

72.4%

Borehole access

13.2%

Home-based economy

Home-based business

11.0%

of households operate a home-based business

WFH full-time

1.7%

WFH part-time

4.2%

How Mowbray compares

Food insecurity 36% below the city average for adult food insecurity

Material hardship 20% above the city average for material hardship

Food spend share 35% below the city average for food expenditure share

Asset ownership 16% above the city average for household asset ownership

Source: City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey. Survey group: Mowbray/Observatory. direct.

Energy access

Free basic electricity

5.6%

City median

2% of electricity connections in Mowbray 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. 4,665 connections.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Mowbray?

Responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Mowbray in a median of 2 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 10,542 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

35th

Percentile
across Cape Town

28%

Resolved
same day

Power outage (11%)Single street light out (8%)Street lights out (7%)Illegal dumping (7%)Water leak (3%)

Service requests logged 10 542

Requests resolved 77% (8 128 of 10 542)

75% resolved within 6 days

90% resolved within 17 days

Source CCT service request database

Community & faith

Places of worship

9 registered

Christian

Islamic

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

Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Above city average

Complaint rate How is this calculated? 3169.5 per 1,000 households

Total complaints 10 526

Unresolved 23.0%

Top issues: No Power (1 171), Street Lights - Single Light Out (820), Illegal Dumping (711)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Mowbray?

Well served

Healthcare access

25 within 5km

Nearest public Red Cross Children'S Hospital · Provincial Hospital · 0.6 km

Nearest private Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital · Private Hospital · 0.7 km

Public facilities 18

Private facilities 7

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

The nearest fire station to Mowbray is Salt River, 2.7 km away. The nearest public pool is Observatory Swimming Pool, 1.2 km away. The nearest clinic is Red Cross Children'S Hospital, 0.6 km away.

Nearest clinic Red Cross Children'S Hospital · 0.6 km

Nearest library Mowbray · 1.4 km

Nearest park / open space Rondebosch Common · 0.3 km