Waikuku Beach

Waikuku Beach is a small settlement on the coast of the Canterbury region of New Zealand, about 3 km east of the settlement of Waikuku.

The sandy beach is popular with surfers and swimmers, and the large estuary of the Ashley River hosts many species of birds. The Waikuku beach has been rated as one of the ten best to learn to surf at.

Demographics
Waikuku Beach is described by Statistics New Zealand as a small urban area and covers 1.52 km2. It had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2. Waikuku Beach is part of the larger Waikuku statistical area.

Before the 2023 census, the town had a smaller boundary, covering 1.30 km2. Using that boundary, Waikuku Beach had a population of 912 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 12 people (1.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 54 people (6.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 342 households, comprising 468 males and 444 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.05 males per female, with 168 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 141 (15.5%) aged 15 to 29, 477 (52.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 126 (13.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 95.4% European/Pākehā, 13.2% Māori, 1.3% Pasifika, 1.0% Asian, and 1.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 62.2% had no religion, 28.3% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% were Muslim and 1.0% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 147 (19.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 144 (19.4%) people had no formal qualifications. 141 people (19.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 402 (54.0%) people were employed full-time, 132 (17.7%) were part-time, and 18 (2.4%) were unemployed.