Skip to main content

Scarborough

Safety 99/100 Safer than 100% of Cape Town suburbs (relative) Property 2.5-3M Top 16% Healthcare 1 facilities within 5 km Council Near avg complaints 2d median resolution

Data current as of

#4 Safest Suburbs

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Scarborough is a neighbourhood in Cape Town, Cape Town, where property values sit in the upper quartile for Cape Town. The area's safety profile is below the city average for reported safety. The dominant commuter mode is private vehicle. Policing falls under the Simon's Town SAPS precinct.

How is the area changing?

In Scarborough, 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 Scarborough. In this area, service complaints are generally resolved within a few days. The suburb has a healthcare facility within reach.

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 Scarborough safe?

Lower reported crime

44th percentile among 744 suburbs · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Very low Absolute crime volume
948 reported crimes per year · city median: 10 468
↓ 5.2% vs Q3 2024
Crime is low and falling. This is one of the safer parts of Cape Town, with violent crime well below the city average and a positive year-on-year trend. Contact crime (assault, robbery) dominates the reported crime profile.

Detailed data

Safety index (resident-adjusted) How is this calculated? 99 / 100
Contact crime rate 18,629 per 100k residents
Station population 10 913
Harm rate (per resident) 99/100
Harm volume (absolute) 100/100
Data period Q3 2025/2026 (Oct–Dec 2025)
Source SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0
Precinct population note: This suburb shares Simon's Town police precinct with Simon's Town, which accounts for 76% of the precinct's residential population. The safety index is based on the whole precinct, where Simon's Town accounts for most of the population. This may not fully reflect conditions in Scarborough specifically.

Household survey context: All 76 surveyed households reported no crime victimisation (2024 CCT Household Survey). In areas where precinct-level crime data suggests elevated risk, zero survey reporting may reflect reluctance to disclose rather than absence of crime.

This data reflects crimes reported to SAPS Simon's Town precinct, which covers Scarborough 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 Scarborough?

84th percentile

The median property value in Scarborough is R3.6M. Property values have grown by 3.6% per year since 2018.

A 3.6% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.
Value band distribution – Scarborough 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 R3,600,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022) +3.6% per year ↑ Growing
City-wide value percentile 84th percentile
Dominant value band 2.5-3M
Source CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

Source: DBE EMIS · Q2 2025

FOR COMMUTERS

How connected is Scarborough?

Private vehicle dominant

The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (91%).

Commute mode share

Anyone relocating to Scarborough needs a car. The 91% 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
91%
Walking
9%
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 (91%)
Source CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Scarborough?

Full municipal services

Scarborough has a service delivery index of 99.4 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 , Kommetjie/Scarborough survey group (76 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 (R4,385) is 2.6× the city median of R1,674.› High digital connectivity: 98% of households have home internet access.

Access to basic services

99 City median: 85
Piped water
100.0%
Flush toilet
99.2%
Weekly refuse
98.3%
Grid electricity
100.0%

Housing & tenure – Owner-dominated residential area

100 City median: 68
Formal dwellings
100.0%
Owner-occupied
78.4%
Rented
9.8%

Environmental risk – Moderate risk exposure

18 risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26
Flooding risk
0.8%
Fire risk
3.3%
Violent crime
0.0%
Non-violent crime
2.4%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share
28.1%
Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Comfortable, moderate discretionary income · 76th percentile
Hardship dimensions
0
Areas of material need (out of 8)
Grant income share
12.0%
of households receiving grants
Monthly savings
R2,164
Weighted mean per household

Spending priorities – top priority: Petrol/transport

Petrol/transport
69.8%
of households prioritise
Food
69.5%
of households prioritise
Electricity
61.6%
of households prioritise
School fees
15.5%
of households prioritise
Rent/bond
12.0%
of households prioritise

Digital inclusion – Fibre-connected suburb

Home fibre
97.6%
City median: 46.5%
Mobile only
1.6%
No access
0.8%

Food security

Adult food insecurity
0.0%
City median: 18.3%
Child food insecurity
0.0%
City median: 13.0%
Food insecurity prevalence
0.9%
City median: 22.3%

Demographics & community

Avg household size
2.5 people
Avg children per household
0.4

Asset ownership

Computer access
92.2%
Fridge ownership
97.6%
Property ownership
4.1%
Geyser ownership
94.3%
Borehole access
30.3%

Home-based economy

Home-based business
27.2%
of households operate a home-based business
WFH full-time
0.9%

How Scarborough compares

Food insecurity 100% below the city average for adult food insecurity
Material hardship 93% below the city average for material hardship
Income 8.0× the city average for median household income
Food spend share 20% below the city average for food expenditure share

Source: City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey. Survey group: Kommetjie/Scarborough. direct.

Energy access
3%
Free basic electricity
5.6%
City median

3% of electricity connections in Scarborough 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. 1,058 connections.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Scarborough?

Responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Scarborough in a median of 2 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 1,923 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.
2
Median days to resolve
City median: 1
40th
Percentile
across Cape Town
28%
Resolved
same day
Empty conservancy tank (34%)Power outage (18%)Water leak (4%)Broken leading (4%)Leak at meter/stopcock 20mm below (3%)
Service requests logged 1 923
Requests resolved 81% (1 557 of 1 923)
75% resolved within 5 days
90% resolved within 11 days
Source CCT service request database
Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Near city average
Complaint rate How is this calculated? 2956.8 per 1,000 households
Total complaints 1 916
Unresolved 19.0%

Top issues: SEW: Empty Conservancy Tank (651), No Power (342), WAT: Broken Leading (75)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Scarborough?

Well served

Healthcare access

1 within 5km
Nearest public Red Hill Satellite · Community Day Centre · 2.2 km
Nearest private Melomed Tokai · Private Hospital · 16.4 km
Public facilities 1
Private facilities 0

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

The nearest fire station to Scarborough is Simonstown, 4.7 km away. The nearest public pool is Muizenberg Swimming Pool, 13.6 km away. The nearest clinic is Red Hill Satellite, 2.2 km away.

Nearest clinic Red Hill Satellite · 2.2 km
Nearest library Simon'S Town · 5.6 km
Nearest park / open space Cotton Pos · 4.37 km

Fire station

4.7
km to nearest
fire station
Simonstown
community station
within-5km
response
category

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

Public swimming pools

13.6
km to nearest
public pool
0
pools
within 5 km
0
pools
within 10 km
Nearest pool Muizenberg 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

Gordons Bay Ext 12 R2.5-3M
98 →
Melkbosch Strand R2.5-3M
98 →
Gordons Bay Village R2-2.5M
98 →
Clovelly R2.5-3M
97 →
Firlands R2.5-3M
98 →
Explore surrounding areas

Bordering suburbs

1 adjacent

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

Cape Farms District H
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

Scarborough · -34.1990°S, 18.3767°E

Open full map ›