Bethlehem Central Safety Snapshot

Is Bethlehem Central safe? About average. Bethlehem Central has a safety score of 65/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 65% of New Zealand suburbs, with 11 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #47 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty.

The annual total crime rate in Bethlehem Central is 11 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #47 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in May 2026, June 2026, July 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 19.0%
  Burglary accounts for 19.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 18.0%
  Theft accounts for 18.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 5.0%
  Assault accounts for 5.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 4.0%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 4.0 percent of incidents.
• Harm Or Endanger Persons 1.0%
  Harm Or Endanger Persons accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 1.0%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 1.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Bethlehem Central ›

Bethlehem Central Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

4,398

Households

1,671

Median income

$98,400

Median rent

$631

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

723 (16.4%)

Age 15-64

2,361 (53.7%)

Age 65+

1,278 (29.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

2,907 (66.3%)

Born overseas

1,476 (33.7%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

3,675 · 78.2%

Māori

270 · 5.7%

Pacific

42 · 0.9%

Asian

603 · 12.8%

MELAA

42 · 0.9%

Other

66 · 1.4%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

3,513 · 100%

Not owned

1,137 · 32.4%

Other

156 · 4.4%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

1,269 (25.3%)

Two families

39 (0.8%)

Three+ families

3 (0.1%)

Other composition

3,699 (73.8%)

Demographic data sourced from Stats NZ , licensed under CC BY 4.0

FAQ

• Is Bethlehem Central a safe suburb to live in?

  Bethlehem Central has a safety score of 65/100, making it the #47 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty Region. 77% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Bethlehem Central?

  The annual crime rate in Bethlehem Central is 11 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Te Reti (Bay of Plenty)
• Bethlehem North (Bay of Plenty)
• Gate Pa (Bay of Plenty)
• Bethlehem South (Bay of Plenty)
• Brookfield West (Bay of Plenty)
• Greerton South (Bay of Plenty)
• Tauranga Hospital (Bay of Plenty)
• Judea (Bay of Plenty)
• Fraser Cove (Bay of Plenty)
• Brookfield East (Bay of Plenty)