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Whale Bay Safety Snapshot

Waikato, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Whale Bay safe? It has more recorded crime than most NZ suburbs. Whale Bay has a safety score of 29/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 29% of New Zealand suburbs, with 30.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #157 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato.

The annual total crime rate in Whale Bay is 30.3 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #157 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in October 2025, November 2025, January 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
29 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
30.3
Regional rank #157 / 237 (Bottom 50%)
3-Month Trend
i
▼80%(improving)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Burglary 12.0%
    Burglary accounts for 12.0 percent of incidents.
  • Theft 11.0%
    Theft accounts for 11.0 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 6.0%
    Assault accounts for 6.0 percent of incidents.
  • Sexual Offences 2.0%
    Sexual Offences accounts for 2.0 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Whale Bay ›

Whale Bay Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

1,014

Households

357

Median income

$96,285

Median rent

$306

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
195 (19.2%)
Age 15-64
693 (68.3%)
Age 65+
138 (13.6%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
771 (77.2%)
Born overseas
228 (22.8%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
876 · 70.4%
Māori
291 · 23.4%
Pacific
33 · 2.7%
Asian
18 · 1.4%
MELAA
12 · 1%
Other
15 · 1.2%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
666 · 99.6%
Not owned
276 · 41.3%
Other
150 · 22.4%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
213 (20.6%)
Two families
15 (1.4%)
Three+ families
3 (0.3%)
Other composition
804 (77.7%)

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

FAQ

  • Is Whale Bay a safe suburb to live in?

    Whale Bay has a safety score of 29/100, making it the #157 safest of 237 ranked suburbs in Waikato Region. 74% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Whale Bay?

    The annual crime rate in Whale Bay is 30.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Whale Bay

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs