Whau ward

Whau Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects one councillor and covers the Whau local board area. The current councillor is Sarah Paterson-Hamlin.

Demographics

Whau ward covers 26.85 km2 (10.37 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 91,300 as of June 2025, with a population density of 3,400 people per km2.

Whau ward had a population of 81,273 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,917 people (2.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 8,679 people (12.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 40,752 males, 40,188 females and 336 people of other genders in 26,526 dwellings. 3.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 35.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 15,258 people (18.8%) aged under 15 years, 16,602 (20.4%) aged 15 to 29, 38,805 (47.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 10,608 (13.1%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 37.6% European (Pākehā); 11.0% Māori; 19.7% Pasifika; 42.2% Asian; 3.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 90.7%, Māori language by 2.4%, Samoan by 5.9%, and other languages by 34.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.6% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 47.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 33.7% Christian, 11.1% Hindu, 6.4% Islam, 0.7% Māori religious beliefs, 2.2% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 37.6%, and 6.1% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 20,430 (30.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 26,292 (39.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 19,290 (29.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $41,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 6,933 people (10.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 34,935 (52.9%) people were employed full-time, 7,344 (11.1%) were part-time, and 2,433 (3.7%) were unemployed.

Councillors

Election results

Election Results for the Whau Ward:

2025 Election Results

2022 Election Results

2019 Election Results

2016 Election Results