Puketaha

For the proposed wildlife sanctuary, see Puketahā (wildlife sanctuary).

Puketaha is a rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island.

Puketaha
Rural community
Coordinates: 37.720615°S 175.326971°E / -37.720615; 175.326971
Country	New Zealand
Region	Waikato
District	Waikato District
Wards	Tamahere-Woodlands General Ward Tai Runga Takiwaa Maaori Ward
Electorates	Waikato Hauraki-Waikato (Māori)
Government
• Territorial Authority	Waikato District Council
• Regional council	Waikato Regional Council
• Mayor of Waikato	Jacqui Church[1]
• Waikato MP	Tim van de Molen[2]
• Hauraki-Waikato MP	Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke[3]
Area [4]
• Total	25.68 km2 (9.92 sq mi)
Population  (2023 Census)[5]
• Total	771
• Density	30/km2 (78/sq mi)

Demographics

Puketaha covers 25.68 km² (9.92 sq mi).^[4] It is part of the larger Hamilton Park statistical area.^[6]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	498	—
2013	636	+3.56%
2018	732	+2.85%
2023	771	+1.04%
Source: [5][7]

Puketaha had a population of 771 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 39 people (5.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 135 people (21.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 402 males and 369 females in 234 dwellings.^[8] 2.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 180 people (23.3%) aged under 15 years, 147 (19.1%) aged 15 to 29, 345 (44.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 90 (11.7%) aged 65 or older.^[5]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 80.9% European (Pākehā); 16.7% Māori; 3.5% Pasifika; 10.5% Asian; 1.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.3%, Māori language by 3.9%, Samoan by 0.8%, and other languages by 9.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.2% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 15.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.^[5]

Religious affiliations were 37.4% Christian, 1.2% Hindu, 0.8% Islam, 1.2% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, and 2.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 48.6%, and 8.6% of people did not answer the census question.^[5]

Of those at least 15 years old, 162 (27.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 336 (56.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 102 (17.3%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 99 people (16.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 321 (54.3%) people were employed full-time, 96 (16.2%) were part-time, and 6 (1.0%) were unemployed.^[5]

Education

Puketaha School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students^[9][10] with a roll of 281 as of March 2025.^[11][12] The school opened in 1916.^[13]