Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) Safety Snapshot

Is Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) has a safety score of 28/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 28% of New Zealand suburbs, with 53.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #159 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato.

The annual total crime rate in Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) is 53.1 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #159 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in November 2025, March 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 69.0%
  Theft accounts for 69.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 20.5%
  Burglary accounts for 20.5 percent of incidents.
• Assault 6.4%
  Assault accounts for 6.4 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 2.3%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 2.3 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 1.8%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 1.8 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) ›

Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

3,231

Households

987

Median income

$95,906

Median rent

$502

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

672 (20.8%)

Age 15-64

2,292 (70.9%)

Age 65+

261 (8.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,839 (57.7%)

Born overseas

1,347 (42.3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,617 · 43.3%

Māori

720 · 19.3%

Pacific

195 · 5.2%

Asian

1,065 · 28.5%

MELAA

99 · 2.6%

Other

42 · 1.1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

2,388 · 100%

Not owned

1,755 · 73.7%

Other

162 · 6.8%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

651 (22.3%)

Two families

45 (1.5%)

Three+ families

3 (0.1%)

Other composition

2,220 (76.1%)

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

FAQ

• Is Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) a safe suburb to live in?

  Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) has a safety score of 28/100, making it the #159 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato Region. 89% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Hillcrest East (Hamilton City)?

  The annual crime rate in Hillcrest East (Hamilton City) is 53.1 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Hillcrest West (Hamilton City) (Waikato)
• Silverdale (Hamilton City) (Waikato)
• Riverlea (Waikato)
• Greensboro (Waikato)
• Hamilton East Cook (Waikato)
• Hamilton East (Waikato)
• Ruakura (Waikato)
• Peachgrove (Waikato)
• Hamilton East Village (Waikato)
• Bader (Waikato)