Hillcrest (Rotorua District) Safety Snapshot

Is Hillcrest (Rotorua District) safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Hillcrest (Rotorua District) has a safety score of 3/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 3% of New Zealand suburbs, with 175.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #132 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty.

The annual total crime rate in Hillcrest (Rotorua District) is 175.2 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #132 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 October 2025, January 2026, July 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 67.9%
  Theft accounts for 67.9 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 21.4%
  Burglary accounts for 21.4 percent of incidents.
• Assault 9.8%
  Assault accounts for 9.8 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 0.6%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 0.6 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 0.3%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 0.3 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Hillcrest (Rotorua District) ›

Hillcrest (Rotorua District) Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,866

Households

540

Median income

$98,406

Median rent

$401

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

435 (23.3%)

Age 15-64

1,257 (67.4%)

Age 65+

201 (10.8%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,467 (79.6%)

Born overseas

375 (20.4%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,059 · 46%

Māori

837 · 36.3%

Pacific

102 · 4.4%

Asian

267 · 11.6%

MELAA

15 · 0.7%

Other

24 · 1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,245 · 100%

Not owned

669 · 53.9%

Other

180 · 14.5%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

363 (22.9%)

Two families

27 (1.7%)

Three+ families

0 (0%)

Other composition

1,194 (75.4%)

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

FAQ

• Is Hillcrest (Rotorua District) a safe suburb to live in?

  Hillcrest (Rotorua District) has a safety score of 3/100, making it the #132 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty Region. 89% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Hillcrest (Rotorua District)?

  The annual crime rate in Hillcrest (Rotorua District) is 175.2 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

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