Living in Bethlehem: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 3,548 live property titles in Bethlehem, Tauranga City are almost all freehold (85%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 101 (2.8%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 101
- Share of live titles
- 2.8%
- Live titles in total
- 3,548
- Tauranga City share
- 13.5%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Tauranga City
- 17 of 18
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 588 of 644
Bethlehem at a glance
Where Bethlehem differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: median weekly rent, new tenancies (higher than 94% of NZ suburbs); cross-lease share of titles (lower than 91% of NZ suburbs); median age (higher than 91% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Bethlehem is listed under Tauranga City.
- 3,548 live titles are recorded here, including 101 cross-lease titles (2.8%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
- The page includes MBIE new-tenancy rent figures for April–June 2026.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 2.8% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 10.1% of recorded titles, so title structure can vary within the suburb.
- Coast distance is a suburb-level map measure, not a flood or hazard assessment.
Questions worth investigating
- For any cross-lease property you consider, do the current title, flats plan and lease match what is built today?
- What do the LIM, council property file and a suitable inspection add for the specific address?
No data held for this suburb
- Mapped public-transport context is not available for this suburb.
Title mix in Bethlehem
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 3,027 | 85.3% |
| Cross lease | 101 | 2.8% |
| Unit title | 358 | 10.1% |
| Leasehold | 9 | 0.3% |
| Other record types | 53 | 1.5% |
| Total | 3,548 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Bethlehem compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Bethlehem is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Tauranga City as a whole, the share is 13.5%; Bethlehem is well below the overall Tauranga City share (13.5%).
Its cross-lease share is 2nd lowest of 18 in Tauranga City (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Bethlehem are set up
Three-flat schemes are less common here (2%, against 12% nationally).
Fewer schemes have four or more flats on one section (2%, against 11% nationally).
Carports appear in fewer leases (9% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Bethlehem | Tauranga City | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 53 | 4,119 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 96.2% | 82.8% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 1.9% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 1.9% | 6.0% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 876 m² | 850 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 438 m² | 410 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 20.8% | 19.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 9.4% | 7.9% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 3.8% | 4.6% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 41.5% | 48.8% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1985 | 1987 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 49 | 3,062 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Bethlehem
Unit titles are 10% of Bethlehem's titles, above Tauranga City (7%) and above New Zealand (8%). They belong to 5 developments, each run by a body corporate; 1 has 50 or more units.
The unit-title share is 3rd highest of 18 in Tauranga City.
New titles in Bethlehem since 2020
199 of Bethlehem's current titles (6%) were first issued since 2020, slightly below Tauranga City's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (7%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
29% are unit titles, in 2 developments; most of the rest are freehold.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 136 | 72 |
| Unit title | 57 | 43 |
| Cross-lease | 2 | 2 |
| Leasehold | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 3 | 3 |
New titles include cross-leases converted to freehold and titles re-issued; they are not a count of new homes. Sources and limits
The lie of the land in Bethlehem
The typical building in Bethlehem stands on ground sloping 2.2° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Bethlehem
2% of Bethlehem's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 7% within 500 m and 26% within 1 km. The typical title is 1.7 km away.
Measured in a straight line from the centre of each title's land to the coastline on LINZ's 1:50k topographic map, which follows harbours and estuaries as well as the open coast; lakes and rivers are not included. Distance says nothing about beach access, views or exposure to coastal hazards; council hazard maps and the LIM describe those.
Who lives around Bethlehem: 2023 Census
Bethlehem's titles fall in 4 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 3 shown below hold 100% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
Fewer households have no car in Bethlehem Central than across Tauranga City: 1.9% against 4.3%.
More residents are 65 or over in Bethlehem Central than across Tauranga City: 29.6% against 19.7%.
More residents were born overseas in Bethlehem Central than across Tauranga City: 33.7% against 25.4%.
| Measure | Bethlehem Central 49% of titles | Bethlehem North 38% of titles | Te Reti 12% of titles | Tauranga City whole council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 4,392 | 3,645 | 1,944 | 152,844 |
| Change since 2018 | +6.6% | +6.3% | +4.3% | +11.5% |
| Change since 2013 | +20.2% | +52.6% | +16.8% | +32.7% |
| Median age | 49.1 | 63.1 | 37 | 39.4 |
| Households | 1,671 | 1,533 | 633 | 55,359 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 82.6% | 87.9% | 69.7% | 69.4% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 17.6% | 12.1% | 29.9% | 30.6% |
| Median household income | $94,900 | $66,500 | $102,600 | $95,400 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $640 | $450 | $512 | $550 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 6.2% | 6.2% | 3.2% | 8.8% |
| Ages | ||||
| Under 15 | 16.5% | 11.7% | 21.1% | 19.4% |
| 15 to 29 | 13.2% | 10.5% | 18.2% | 17.2% |
| 30 to 64 | 40.8% | 30.0% | 45.2% | 43.7% |
| 65 and over | 29.6% | 47.8% | 15.4% | 19.7% |
| Where people came from | ||||
| Born overseas | 33.7% | 22.5% | 20.8% | 25.4% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 22.3% | 13.3% | 20.5% | 25.4% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 43.9% | 46.2% | 42.6% | 47.2% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 4.9% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 4.8% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 16.9% | 16.0% | 17.4% | 19.3% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 27.2% | 22.6% | 20.3% | 24.9% |
| Employed full-time | 42.1% | 28.7% | 52.1% | 49.7% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 1.4% | 2.1% | 3.5% | 2.6% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 51.4% | 50.0% | 41.4% | 44.2% |
| Median personal income | $40,000 | $33,700 | $40,900 | $42,100 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||||
| Work from home | 19.1% | 20.5% | 12.8% | 16.5% |
| Car, truck or van | 74.4% | 73.3% | 80.9% | 75.7% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.7% |
| Walk or cycle | 4.3% | 4.9% | 2.9% | 4.9% |
| Households and families | ||||
| One-person households | 19.2% | 31.5% | 19.8% | 22.6% |
| Average people per household | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 1.9% | 5.4% | 1.6% | 4.3% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 2.2% | 2.4% | 8.5% | 4.8% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 37.6% | 26.2% | 45.3% | 40.3% |
| Couples without children | 52.8% | 64.1% | 35.8% | 43.5% |
| One-parent families | 9.4% | 9.3% | 18.2% | 16.2% |
| Homes | ||||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 92.9% | 76.2% | 88.7% | 80.1% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.4 | 3 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 75.2% | 82.5% | 66.5% | 75.1% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 6.0% | 5.0% | 23.3% | 13.2% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 4.5% | 4.8% | 19.0% | 10.7% |
Rents around Bethlehem
New tenancies in Bethlehem Central in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $800 a week (up 6.0% on a year earlier). That is above the typical suburb in Tauranga City ($650), and above the national median ($600); the highest of 14 in Tauranga City.
| April–June 2026 | Bethlehem Central 49% of titles | Bethlehem North 38% of titles | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $800 | $760 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $755–$875 | $750–$798 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +6.0% | — | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 24 | 12 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Bethlehem
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Bethlehem, among them Bethlehem College (Composite) and Bethlehem School (Contributing).
- Bethlehem College (Composite)
- Bethlehem School (Contributing)
- Tauranga Adventist School (Full Primary)
- Te Wharekura o Mauao (Secondary (Year 7-15))
- Nearest school: Bethlehem College (0.9 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Bethlehem College (0.9 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Tauranga Hospital (3.2 km)
School enrolment zones in Bethlehem: a guide
Three secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Bethlehem's titles: Otumoetai College, Tauranga Boys' College and Tauranga Girls' College.
- Bethlehem School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Te Kura o Manunui (primary, Years 1–6): about 10% of titles
- Otumoetai Intermediate (intermediate, Years 7–8): all or nearly all titles
- Otumoetai College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Tauranga Boys' College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Tauranga Girls' College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
A guide only: check the school's own zone map for any address. Zones as at 14 July 2026. Sources and limits
Places of worship near Bethlehem
OpenStreetMap maps 5 places of worship inside Bethlehem (5 Christian).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Bethlehem Community Church, under 1 km away
- Muslim: Tauranga Masjid, 3.6 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Tauranga City with many cross-leases
- Mount Maunganui: 2,452 cross-lease titles (17.4%)
- Otūmoetai: 910 cross-lease titles (24.0%)
- Papamoa Beach: 896 cross-lease titles (7.1%)
- Tauranga South: 685 cross-lease titles (25.7%)
- Gate Pa: 586 cross-lease titles (22.9%)
- Greerton: 449 cross-lease titles (27.1%)
- Matua: 425 cross-lease titles (19.0%)
- Welcome Bay: 396 cross-lease titles (9.8%)
Suburbs like Bethlehem
The closest match on the measures on this site is Papamoa Beach in Tauranga City, nearest on distance to the coast, land per flat, elevation. Closeness is arithmetic, not a rating. Sources and limits
| Suburb | Council | Cross-lease share of titles | Median weekly rent, new tenancies | Median age | Closest on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papamoa Beach | Tauranga City | 7.1% | No data | No data | distance to the coast, land per flat, elevation |
| Maunu | Whangarei District | 5.6% | No data | 44.4 | land per flat, home ownership, distance to a hospital |
| Haruru | Far North District | 5.4% | No data | 48.8 | median age, distance to the coast, population change |
| Te Kamo | Whangarei District | 9.3% | No data | 47.3 | population change, older residents, commuting on foot or by bike |
| Matua | Tauranga City | 19.0% | No data | 45 | population change, slope, commuting by public transport |
Questions
What is the rent in Bethlehem?
New tenancies in Bethlehem Central (the rent area for part of Bethlehem) had a median rent of $800 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter (MBIE bond data, all dwelling types). These are rents agreed for new tenancies, not asking rents. The middle half of those rents ran from $755 to $875.
What schools are in Bethlehem?
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Bethlehem, including Bethlehem College, Bethlehem School and Tauranga Adventist School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Bethlehem College (0.9 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles are Otumoetai College, Tauranga Boys' College and Tauranga Girls' College; check the school's own zone map for any address.