Waitao Safety Snapshot

Is Waitao safe? Yes. Waitao has a safety score of 95/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 95% of New Zealand suburbs, with 7.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #4 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty.

The annual total crime rate in Waitao is 7.7 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #4 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 December 2025, February 2026, April 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Assault 6.0%
  Assault accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
• Theft 6.0%
  Theft accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 2.0%
  Burglary accounts for 2.0 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Waitao ›

Waitao Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,830

Households

630

Median income

$106,444

Median rent

$397

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

345 (18.9%)

Age 15-64

1,209 (66.1%)

Age 65+

300 (16.4%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

1,452 (80.3%)

Born overseas

357 (19.7%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

1,515 · 73.8%

Māori

387 · 18.9%

Pacific

21 · 1%

Asian

60 · 2.9%

MELAA

27 · 1.3%

Other

42 · 2%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

1,314 · 100%

Not owned

504 · 38.4%

Other

171 · 13%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

429 (23.4%)

Two families

33 (1.8%)

Three+ families

6 (0.3%)

Other composition

1,368 (74.5%)

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

FAQ

• Is Waitao a safe suburb to live in?

  Waitao has a safety score of 95/100, making it the #4 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty Region. 57% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

• What is the crime rate in Waitao?

  The annual crime rate in Waitao is 7.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Ohauiti (Bay of Plenty)
• Welcome Bay South (Bay of Plenty)
• Kaitemako (Bay of Plenty)
• Welcome Bay West (Bay of Plenty)
• Pyes Pa East (Bay of Plenty)
• Hairini (Bay of Plenty)
• Welcome Bay East (Bay of Plenty)
• Otawa (Bay of Plenty)
• Poike (Bay of Plenty)
• Maungatapu (Bay of Plenty)