New Plymouth District

The New Plymouth District is one of the districts of New Zealand within Taranaki. It includes the city of New Plymouth and smaller towns such as Inglewood, Ōakura and Waitara.

In 1989, as a part of New Zealand-wide reorganisation of local government, New Plymouth City Council was merged with North Taranaki District Council, Inglewood District Council, and Clifton County Council to form the New Plymouth District Council.

Demographics
New Plymouth District covers 2205.60 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2. The New Plymouth District is the 11th largest district (out of 67) in New Zealand.

New Plymouth district had a population of 87,000 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 6,321 people (7.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 12,816 people (17.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 36,264 dwellings. The median age was 40.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 17,193 people (19.8%) aged under 15 years, 14,148 (16.3%) aged 15 to 29, 38,583 (44.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 17,076 (19.6%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 84.0% European/Pākehā, 20.0% Māori, 2.5% Pasifika, 6.6% Asian, 0.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders, and 1.4% other. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

New Plymouth District had a population of 80,679 at the 2018 New Zealand census. There were 30,954 households, comprising 39,630 males and 41,049 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.97 males per female.

The percentage of people born overseas was 15.7, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.2% had no religion, 35.9% were Christian, 0.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.8% were Hindu, 0.5% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 1.7% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 11,112 (17.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 13,422 (20.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 10,500 people (16.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 30,669 (47.7%) people were employed full-time, 10,026 (15.6%) were part-time, and 2,472 (3.8%) were unemployed.

Local government
Every three years, the Mayor, 14 councillors and 20 community board members are elected by the New Plymouth District’s enrolled voters. The full council, subcommittees and standing committees meet on a six-weekly cycle. The current serving Mayor of New Plymouth is Neil Holdom.

The Strategy and Operations Committee, Te Huinga Taumata and Finance and Risk committee meetings are part of this meeting. cycle. There are five community boards – Clifton, Waitara, Inglewood and Kaitake and Puketapu-Bell – as well as the subcommittees and working parties.

The Chief Executive and approximately 530 full-time equivalent staff provide advice and information to the elected members and the public, implement council decisions and manage the district’s day-to-day operations. The current chief executive, Gareth Green, was appointed in December 2022.

The district's day to day operations include maintaining more than 110 parks and reserves, waste water management and issuing consents and permits, through to providing libraries and other recreational services and ensuring the district’s eateries meet health standards.

New Plymouth District Council's annual operating revenue for 2022/2023 was $210.946 million.