Otangarei

Suburb in Whangarei District Council, New Zealand

Otangarei
Suburb
Coordinates: 35°41′34″S 174°19′9″E / 35.69278°S 174.31917°E / -35.69278; 174.31917
Country	New Zealand
City	Whangarei District Council
Electoral ward	Whangārei Urban Ward
Area [1]
• Land	77 ha (190 acres)
Population  (June 2024)[2]
• Total	2,290

Kamo		Tikipunga
Whau Valley	Otangarei
Kensington	Mairtown	(Mount Parihaka)

Otangarei is a suburb of Whangārei, in Northland Region, New Zealand.^[3]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of [a] group of people leaping" for Ōtāngarei.^[4]

Te Kotahitanga Marae o Otangarei is the community's local marae. It is a meeting ground for the Ngāpuhi hapū of Uri o Te Tangata,^[5] and features Te Puawaitanga Hou meeting house.^[6]

Otangarei covers 0.77 km² (0.30 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 2,290 as of June 2024,^[2] with a population density of 2,974 people per km².

Otangarei had a population of 2,211 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 102 people (4.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 576 people (35.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,101 males, 1,101 females and 9 people of other genders in 588 dwellings.^[9] 1.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 28.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 648 people (29.3%) aged under 15 years, 501 (22.7%) aged 15 to 29, 846 (38.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 219 (9.9%) aged 65 or older.^[8]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 33.8% European (Pākehā); 78.3% Māori; 10.2% Pasifika; 2.6% Asian; 0.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 94.7%, Māori language by 26.5%, Samoan by 1.5%, and other languages by 3.4%. No language could be spoken by 2.6% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 5.8, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 27.5% Christian, 0.3% Hindu, 0.4% Islam, 14.8% Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, and 1.5% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 49.3%, and 6.6% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 66 (4.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 903 (57.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 582 (37.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $26,900, compared with $41,500 nationally. 21 people (1.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 507 (32.4%) people were employed full-time, 162 (10.4%) were part-time, and 159 (10.2%) were unemployed.^[8]

Te Kura o Otangarei is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 1^[10] and 82 students as of August 2024.^[11] It opened in 1955 as Otangarei Primary School and opened its full immersion Māori language unit in 1996. It expanded to include year 7 and 8 students in 2004, and adopted its current name in 2006.^[12] The school offers a choice between full immersion Māori language classes, bilingual classes or mainstream education.^[13]

As of 2018, there are also adult education classes in Te Reo Māori, Tikanga Marae and Waiata on a weekly basis for both the Otangarei and wider communities held at Te Puawaitanga Marae by Shaquille Shortland.

City RFC are based in Otangarei and play in the Northland Rugby Union South Zone competitions. The club colours are blue & white hoops.

City Knights (formerly Kensington Knights) are based in Otangarei and play in the Whangarei City & Districts rugby league competitions.