Poukawa Safety Snapshot

Is Poukawa safe? Yes. Poukawa has a safety score of 80/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 80% of New Zealand suburbs, with 15.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #12 safest of 79 ranked suburbs in Hawke's Bay.

The annual total crime rate in Poukawa is 15.9 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #12 safest of 79 ranked suburbs in Hawke's Bay Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in September 2025, October 2025, January 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Burglary 11.0%
  Burglary accounts for 11.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 9.0%
  Theft accounts for 9.0 percent of incidents.
• Assault 5.0%
  Assault accounts for 5.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Poukawa ›

Poukawa Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,566

Households

534

Median income

$121,979

Median rent

$383

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

294 (18.8%)

Age 15-64

1,035 (66.1%)

Age 65+

261 (16.7%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,329 (85.4%)

Born overseas

228 (14.6%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,314 · 72.9%

Māori

393 · 21.8%

Pacific

42 · 2.3%

Asian

33 · 1.8%

MELAA

6 · 0.3%

Other

15 · 0.8%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,131 · 99.2%

Not owned

447 · 39.2%

Other

135 · 11.8%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

387 (25%)

Two families

6 (0.4%)

Three+ families

6 (0.4%)

Other composition

1,149 (74.2%)

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

FAQ

• Is Poukawa a safe suburb to live in?

  Poukawa has a safety score of 80/100, making it the #12 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 Poukawa?

  The annual crime rate in Poukawa is 15.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz