Waipa District facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Waipa District
Cambridge clock tower
Country	New Zealand
Region	Waikato
Wards	Te Awamutu Cambridge Pirongia Maungatautari Kakepuku
Seat	Te Awamutu
Area
• Land	1,470.07 km2 (567.60 sq mi)
Population  (June 2023)
• Territorial	61,100
Postcode(s)	Map of postcodes
Area code(s)	07
Website	Waipa District Council

Waipa District is a municipality in the Waikato region of New Zealand that is administered by the Waipa District Council. Its most populous town is Cambridge. The seat of the council is at the second most populous town, Te Awamutu. The district is south and south-east of the city of Hamilton. It has five wards: Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Pirongia, Maungatautari and Kakepuku.

Although the official name remains Waipa District, the council sought in 2020 a simpler means of changing to Waipā District, which is the orthographic form it uses.

Population

The district's population at the June 2018 was 54,800, of whom approximately 35% lived in each of the main two towns. The district has a land area of 1,473.47 km² (568.91 sq mi). It has five wards: Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Pirongia, Maungatautari and Kakepuku.

The district is located due south of the city of Hamilton. The region's economy is based largely on dairy farming and cereal production. The southeastern corner of the district includes the hydroelectric project at Karapiro.

Demographics

Waipa District covers 1,470.07 km² (567.60 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 61,100 as of June 2023, with a population density of 42 people per km². 21,800 people live in Cambridge and 14,000 in Te Awamutu.

Waipa District had a population of 53,241 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 6,573 people (14.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 10,740 people (25.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 19,518 households. There were 26,067 males and 27,171 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female. The median age was 40.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 10,995 people (20.7%) aged under 15 years, 9,252 (17.4%) aged 15 to 29, 23,535 (44.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 9,456 (17.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 87.7% European/Pākehā, 14.9% Māori, 1.8% Pacific peoples, 4.3% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 18.5, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.6% had no religion, 36.9% were Christian, 0.6% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 2.7% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 8,175 (19.4%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 8,130 (19.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $35,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 8,256 people (19.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 21,927 (51.9%) people were employed full-time, 6,345 (15.0%) were part-time, and 1,269 (3.0%) were unemployed.