Kawerau Central Safety Snapshot

Is Kawerau Central safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Kawerau Central has a safety score of 7/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 7% of New Zealand suburbs, with 90.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #124 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty.

The annual total crime rate in Kawerau Central is 90.7 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #124 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 January 2026, February 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 52.3%
  Theft accounts for 52.3 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 25.1%
  Burglary accounts for 25.1 percent of incidents.
• Assault 18.4%
  Assault accounts for 18.4 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 2.9%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 2.9 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 1.3%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 1.3 percent of incidents.

---

View full safety overview for Kawerau Central ›

Kawerau Central Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,637

Households

729

Median income

$59,147

Median rent

$327

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

660 (25%)

Age 15-64

1,590 (60.3%)

Age 65+

381 (14.4%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

2,370 (91.6%)

Born overseas

216 (8.4%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,224 · 37.4%

Māori

1,833 · 56%

Pacific

114 · 3.5%

Asian

78 · 2.4%

MELAA

9 · 0.3%

Other

15 · 0.5%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,524 · 99.8%

Not owned

873 · 57.2%

Other

441 · 28.9%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

402 (18.9%)

Two families

45 (2.1%)

Three+ families

3 (0.1%)

Other composition

1,674 (78.8%)

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

FAQ

• Is Kawerau Central a safe suburb to live in?

  Kawerau Central has a safety score of 7/100, making it the #124 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 Kawerau Central?

  The annual crime rate in Kawerau Central is 90.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Tarawera Park (Bay of Plenty)
• Kawerau Industrial (Bay of Plenty)
• Monika Reserve (Bay of Plenty)
• Onepu Spring (Bay of Plenty)
• Te Teko Lakes (Bay of Plenty)