Makaretu Safety Snapshot

Is Makaretu safe? Yes. Makaretu has a safety score of 79/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 79% of New Zealand suburbs, with 17.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #14 safest of 79 ranked suburbs in Hawke's Bay.

The annual total crime rate in Makaretu is 17.3 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #14 safest of 79 ranked suburbs in Hawke's Bay Region. The overall crime trend in the area has increased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in October 2025, July 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 28.0%
  Burglary accounts for 28.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 8.0%
  Theft accounts for 8.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 7.0%
  Assault accounts for 7.0 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 1.0%
  Sexual Offences 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 Makaretu ›

Makaretu Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

2,640

Households

924

Median income

$88,875

Median rent

$271

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

537 (20.3%)

Age 15-64

1,623 (61.5%)

Age 65+

471 (17.8%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

2,211 (84.7%)

Born overseas

399 (15.3%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

2,202 · 72.5%

Māori

582 · 19.2%

Pacific

66 · 2.2%

Asian

144 · 4.7%

MELAA

12 · 0.4%

Other

33 · 1.1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,830 · 100%

Not owned

744 · 41.1%

Other

273 · 15.1%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

639 (23.5%)

Two families

21 (0.8%)

Three+ families

3 (0.1%)

Other composition

2,052 (75.6%)

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

FAQ

• Is Makaretu a safe suburb to live in?

  Makaretu has a safety score of 79/100, making it the #14 safest of 79 ranked suburbs in Hawke's Bay Region. 80% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Makaretu?

  The annual crime rate in Makaretu is 17.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz