The suburb is home to the University of Waikato and consequently has a large student population.

It was named Hillcrest by the Waikato County Council in the 1940s when the area began developing as a suburb.

Opened in 2001, the Academy of Performing Arts is a prominent music and theatre venue in Hamilton.

The building was relocated from Victoria Street to its current Hillcrest location in the 1960s, when the Hamilton Central underground train station was built.

It is one of the few surviving railway stations that were built during the time that Julius Vogel was in charge of New Zealand's Public Works Department.

[14] St John's College is a single-sex integrated Catholic secondary school (years 9-13) with a roll of 923.

[16] Despite the name, Hillcrest High School is actually located in the neighbouring suburb of Silverdale.