How should I use this ranking for property research?

Use the ranking as a screening step for Otago. Save realistic areas to your shortlist, compare the strongest pair, and open suburb detail pages before relying on one result.

Does the top ranked area mean it is the best choice?

No. Rankings are a shortlist input, not a final recommendation. Check price history, rent, income, population, local services, source freshness, and current listings before making a decision.

How current is the ranking data?

QuickProperty uses processed public-source datasets and refreshes automated sources where available. Use the suburb detail page source panels to see which signals are current, estimated, or missing for a specific area.

← Lowest Earthquake Risk

Ranking · Otago · 50 SA2 areas

Lowest Earthquake Risk — Otago

SA2 areas furthest from a mapped active fault, by GNS hazard band (population > 500). Estimated regional exposure from nearest-fault distance, not a property-level seismic assessment.

Leading area

South HillOTAGO

Leading value

Low

Runner-up

Holmes HillOTAGO

Updated

12 July 2026

Ranking

Lowest Earthquake Risk

SA2 areas furthest from a mapped active fault, by GNS hazard band (population > 500). Estimated regional exposure from nearest-fault distance, not a property-level seismic assessment — Otago

50 results

How to read this ranking

Use lowest earthquake risk as a shortlist tool, then verify the finalists in detail.

BEST FOR

Finding which areas deserve a closer look first.

This ranking works best as a first-pass screen in Otago, especially when you need to reduce a wide field quickly.

READ IT AS

One signal in the workflow, not the whole answer.

A rank is useful because it compresses one dimension well, but it never replaces the fuller suburb-level picture.

NEXT STEP

Move into compare or suburb detail once a few names repeat.

Use the ranking to build a shortlist, then confirm whether those finalists still hold up on the rest of the data.

VERIFY evidence

Single-signal shortlist screen

A ranking compresses one signal well, but it should hand you into compare or suburb detail before becoming a decision.

SHORTLIST SCREEN

Top candidates are research leads.

Save a small working set, then use compare and evidence depth before treating any row as a decision.

Shortlist flow

Use #1 South Hill and #2 Holmes Hill as the first compare pair.

Rankings are strongest when they hand you a shortlist quickly. Compare the top two first, then open suburb detail if the head-to-head result still feels narrow.

Compare top 2Open #1 detail Open #2 detail

# ▲	AREA	REGION	RISK	NEAREST FAULT	POP
1	South Hill	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 33.1km	2,247
2	Holmes Hill	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 32.5km	1,416
3	Glen Warren	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 31.6km	1,908
4	Oamaru Gardens	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 31.6km	1,152
5	Oamaru North Orana Park	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 31.1km	3,018
6	Oamaru North Milner Park	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 30.7km	2,475
7	Waikouaiti	OTAGO	Low	Billys Ridge Fault · 30.2km	1,260
8	Weston	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 29.8km	1,188
9	Lower Waitaki	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 27.1km	1,575
10	Maheno	OTAGO	Low	Waihemo Fault · 26.2km	2,052
11	Ngapara	OTAGO	Low	Stonewall Fault · 23.7km	1,749
12	Bucklands Crossing	OTAGO	Low	Billys Ridge Fault · 23.0km	1,638
13	Palmerston	OTAGO	Low	Billys Ridge Fault · 21.8km	1,056
14	Otago Peninsula	OTAGO	Low	Titri Fault · 21.3km	870
15	Glenorchy	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 19.5km	522
16	Broad Bay-Portobello	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 19.5km	1,200
17	Port Chalmers	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 18.9km	1,389
18	Mount Cargill	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 17.1km	2,136
19	Queenstown East	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 17.0km	1,122
20	Queenstown Central	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 16.9km	807
21	Frankton Arm	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 16.8km	1,845
22	Roseneath-Sawyers Bay	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 16.7km	1,509
23	Macandrew Bay-Company Bay	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 15.9km	1,548
24	Warren Park	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 15.8km	1,356
25	Kelvin Heights	OTAGO	Moderate	Cardrona Fault · 15.1km	1,185
26	Ravensbourne-St Leonards	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 13.6km	1,953
27	Tuapeka	OTAGO	Moderate	Tuapeka Fault · 13.3km	1,239
28	Quail Rise	OTAGO	Moderate	Cardrona Fault · 13.2km	747
29	Jacks Point	OTAGO	Moderate	Cardrona Fault · 13.0km	3,555
30	Frankton	OTAGO	Moderate	Cardrona Fault · 12.6km	3,498
31	Arthurs Point	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 12.5km	1,353
32	Normanby (Dunedin City)	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 12.4km	1,422
33	Clinton	OTAGO	Moderate	Clifton Fault · 12.2km	1,200
34	Opoho	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 11.8km	1,212
35	Shiel Hill	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 11.7km	1,788
36	Waverley (Dunedin City)	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 11.6km	2,691
37	Catlins	OTAGO	Moderate	Settlement Fault · 11.5km	1,422
38	Sunshine Bay-Fernhill	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 11.5km	3,153
39	Tainui	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 11.5km	2,049
40	Andersons Bay	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 11.2km	2,385
41	North East Valley Chingford	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 11.1km	1,617
42	Wakatipu Basin	OTAGO	Moderate	Cardrona Fault · 10.8km	1,431
43	Shotover Country	OTAGO	Moderate	Cardrona Fault · 10.4km	3,837
44	North East Valley Knox	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 10.4km	2,439
45	Pine Hill-Dalmore	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 10.2km	2,271
46	Gardens (Dunedin City)	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 10.0km	3,909
47	Musselburgh	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 10.0km	1,524
48	Campus North	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 9.9km	2,484
49	St Kilda North	OTAGO	Moderate	Titri Fault · 9.8km	2,550
50	Outer Wakatipu	OTAGO	Moderate	Unnamed · 9.3km	513

FAQ

New Zealand lowest earthquake risk FAQ

What does Lowest Earthquake Risk rank?

Lowest Earthquake Risk ranks areas in Otago using QuickProperty's processed property and locality datasets. SA2 areas furthest from a mapped active fault, by GNS hazard band (population > 500). Estimated regional exposure from nearest-fault distance, not a property-level seismic assessment
How should I use this ranking for property research?

Use the ranking as a screening step for Otago. Save realistic areas to your shortlist, compare the strongest pair, and open suburb detail pages before relying on one result.
Does the top ranked area mean it is the best choice?

No. Rankings are a shortlist input, not a final recommendation. Check price history, rent, income, population, local services, source freshness, and current listings before making a decision.
How current is the ranking data?

QuickProperty uses processed public-source datasets and refreshes automated sources where available. Use the suburb detail page source panels to see which signals are current, estimated, or missing for a specific area.