Whakatāne Central Safety Snapshot

Is Whakatāne Central safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Whakatāne Central has a safety score of 3/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 3% of New Zealand suburbs, with 190.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #133 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty.

The annual total crime rate in Whakatāne Central is 190.8 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #133 safest of 138 ranked suburbs in Bay of Plenty Region. The overall crime trend in the area has remained the same in recent months with criminal activity peaking in March 2026, July 2026, August 2026.

How the safety score works

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026

• Theft 71.4%
  Theft accounts for 71.4 percent of incidents.
• Burglary 15.8%
  Burglary accounts for 15.8 percent of incidents.
• Assault 10.6%
  Assault accounts for 10.6 percent of incidents.
• Sexual Offences 1.4%
  Sexual Offences accounts for 1.4 percent of incidents.
• Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion 0.8%
  Robbery, Blackmail, And Extortion accounts for 0.8 percent of incidents.

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View full safety overview for Whakatāne Central ›

Whakatāne Central Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

3,360

Households

1,335

Median income

$66,196

Median rent

$369

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14

600 (17.9%)

Age 15-64

1,869 (55.6%)

Age 65+

891 (26.5%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ

2,778 (83.5%)

Born overseas

549 (16.5%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European

2,250 · 55%

Māori

1,437 · 35.1%

Pacific

126 · 3.1%

Asian

231 · 5.6%

MELAA

18 · 0.4%

Other

30 · 0.7%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned

2,508 · 100%

Not owned

1,272 · 50.8%

Other

273 · 10.9%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family

717 (18.1%)

Two families

30 (0.8%)

Three+ families

6 (0.2%)

Other composition

3,210 (81%)

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

FAQ

• Is Whakatāne Central a safe suburb to live in?

  Whakatāne Central has a safety score of 3/100, making it the #133 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 Whakatāne Central?

  The annual crime rate in Whakatāne Central is 190.8 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs

• Mokorua Bush (Bay of Plenty)
• Allandale (Bay of Plenty)
• Trident (Bay of Plenty)
• Whakatāne West (Bay of Plenty)
• Coastlands (Bay of Plenty)
• Wainui (Bay of Plenty)
• Thornton-Awakeri (Bay of Plenty)
• Ōhope (Bay of Plenty)