Kawaha Safety Snapshot

Is Kawaha safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Kawaha has a safety score of 22/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 22% of New Zealand suburbs, with 43.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #102 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty.

The annual total crime rate in Kawaha is 43.8 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #102 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in November 2025, December 2025, February 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 39.0%
  Theft accounts for 39.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 33.0%
  Burglary accounts for 33.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 9.0%
  Assault accounts for 9.0 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 Kawaha ›

Kawaha Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,908

Households

663

Median income

$93,760

Median rent

$431

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

363 (19%)

Age 15-64

1,206 (63.2%)

Age 65+

321 (16.8%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,491 (79.4%)

Born overseas

387 (20.6%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,188 · 50.4%

Māori

780 · 33.1%

Pacific

144 · 6.1%

Asian

198 · 8.4%

MELAA

27 · 1.1%

Other

18 · 0.8%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,383 · 100%

Not owned

657 · 47.7%

Other

150 · 10.9%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

432 (21.9%)

Two families

36 (1.8%)

Three+ families

3 (0.2%)

Other composition

1,503 (76.1%)

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

FAQ

• Is Kawaha a safe suburb to live in?

  Kawaha has a safety score of 22/100, making it the #102 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty Region. 87% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Kawaha?

  The annual crime rate in Kawaha is 43.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Fairy Springs (Bay of Plenty)
• Koutu (Bay of Plenty)
• Selwyn Heights (Bay of Plenty)
• Western Heights (Rotorua District) (Bay of Plenty)
• Mangakakahi Central (Bay of Plenty)
• Ngongotahā South (Bay of Plenty)
• Kuirau (Bay of Plenty)
• Mangakakahi West (Bay of Plenty)
• Rotorua Central (Bay of Plenty)
• Pleasant Heights (Bay of Plenty)