Central Otago District

Central Otago District is local government district in New Zealand. It is administered by the Central Otago District Council, and it is in the Otago region, the top tier of local government in New Zealand. The major towns in the district are Alexandra (the seat of local government), Cromwell, Roxburgh, Clyde and Ranfurly. The district covers 9968 km2, making it the fourth-largest district in New Zealand by area, and is home to people as of.

The Central Otago District is part of what is informally known as Central Otago. It was formed in 1989 from the merger of the former Vincent and Maniototo Counties. The current mayor is Tim Cadogan, who comfortably unseated the incumbent, Tony Lepper in the 2016 local elections. Mr Cadogan polled 5047 votes, more than double that polled by Mr Lepper, with 2521 votes. Cadogan was reelected with an increased majority in 2019. In 2022, Cadogan was reelected again, this time unopposed.

Demographics
Central Otago District covers 9933.27 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2.

Central Otago District had a population of 24,306 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,748 people (12.7%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 6,411 people (35.8%) since the 2013 census. There were 12,708 dwellings. The median age was 46.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 3,894 people (16.0%) aged under 15 years, 3,267 (13.4%) aged 15 to 29, 11,160 (45.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 5,985 (24.6%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 89.8% European/Pākehā, 9.5% Māori, 2.4% Pasifika, 4.5% Asian, 0.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders, and 1.5% other. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Central Otago District had a population of 21,558 at the 2018 New Zealand census. There were 8,682 households, comprising 10,977 males and 10,581 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female.

The percentage of people born overseas was 14.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.5% had no religion, 37.7% were Christian, 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.3% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,832 (15.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 3,654 (20.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. 2,667 people (14.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 9,615 (53.7%) people were employed full-time, 2,991 (16.7%) were part-time, and 276 (1.5%) were unemployed.

Urban areas
The Central Otago district has three towns with a population over 1,000: Cromwell, Alexandra , and Clyde. Together, they are home to (0+0+0)/0*100% of the district's population.