Palmerston North City Census 2001

---

Introduction
On 6 March 2001, the thirty-first New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings was held. This Territorial Authority leaflet contains a summary of key information available from this census for Palmerston North City and comparisons with New Zealand as a whole.⁽¹⁾

The information in this leaflet is based on the census usually resident population count.

The census usually resident population count for people of the Mäori ethnic group includes those people who stated Mäori as either their sole ethnic group or as one of several ethnic groups.

Numbers of people counted

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
New Zealand Palmerston North City Males 1,823,007 34,380 Females 1,914,270 37,653 Total 3,737,280 72,033 Change since 1991 Census 363,354 2,496	New Zealand Palmerston North City Males 257,481 4,662 Females 268,800 4,764 Total 526,281 9,429 Change since 1991 Census 91,434 2,217
With 72,033 people, Palmerston North City ranks 12th in size out of the 74 Territorial Authorities in New Zealand. Palmerston North City has 1.9% of the population of New Zealand. The rate of population growth since the 1991 Census is less than for New Zealand as a whole.	With 9,429 Mäori people, Palmerston North City ranks 18th in size out of the 74 Territorial Authorities in New Zealand. Palmerston North City has 1.8% of the Mäori population of New Zealand. The rate of Mäori population growth since the 1991 Census is greater than for New Zealand as a whole.

Age and sex

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Age-sex structure	Age-sex structure

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Age-sex structure	Age-sex structure
The median age of people in Palmerston North City is 31.4, compared with 34.8 for all of New Zealand. 11.3% of people (8,112) in Palmerston North City are aged 65 and over, compared with all of New Zealand which has 12.1% of people aged 65 and over. 21.2% of people (15,273) in Palmerston North City are aged under 15, compared with 22.7% for all of New Zealand.	The median age of Mäori people in Palmerston North City is 20.7, compared with 21.9 for all Mäori in New Zealand. 2.1% of Mäori people (195) in Palmerston North City are aged 65 and over, compared with 3.4% for all Mäori in New Zealand. 37.0% of Mäori people (3,489) in Palmerston North City are aged under 15, compared with 37.3% for all Mäori in New Zealand.

Ethnic groups (total responses)

85.2% of people (59,316) in Palmerston North City said they belong to the European ethnic group. For all New Zealand 80.1% said they belong to the European ethnic group. 13.5% of people (9,426) in Palmerston North City said they belong to the Mäori ethnic group compared with all of New Zealand at 14.7%. The population of Palmerston North City contains a smaller proportion of Pacific peoples (3.1%) and smaller proportion of Asian people (6.2%) compared with the whole of New Zealand (at 6.5% and 6.6% respectively).

Ethnic groups

Marital status

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Marital status	Marital status
21,066 people aged 15 years and over who live in Palmerston North City said they had never married; 23,664 were married and 8,853 were widowed, separated or divorced. 20.9% of people aged 15 years and over (4,290) in Palmerston North City who have never been married said that they live with a partner.	3,402 Mäori people aged 15 years and over who live in Palmerston North City said they had never married; 1,485 were married and 759 were widowed, separated or divorced. 27.6% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over (900) in Palmerston North City who have never been married said that they live with a partner.

Languages spoken

Total population

Mäori ethnic population

The most common language after English in Palmerston North City is Mäori, spoken by 4.3% of people. For New Zealand as a whole, the most common language after English is also Mäori (4.5%). 84.3% of the population in Palmerston North City (58,446) speak only one language, compared with 82.1% for New Zealand as a whole. 11.3% of the people in Palmerston North City (7,818) speak two languages; 2.4% (1,647) speak three or more languages.

24.7% (2,301) of the Mäori people in Palmerston North City speak Mäori. This is the most commonly spoken language after English, for all Mäori in New Zealand (25.2%) and in Palmerston North City. 70.5% of the Mäori population in Palmerston North City (6,582) speak only one language, compared with 71.3% for Mäori in New Zealand as a whole. 23.6% of Mäori people in Palmerston North City (2,199) speak two languages; 2.0% (189) speak three or more languages.

Education

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Highest qualification	Highest qualification
35.2% of people aged 15 years and over (17,634*) in Palmerston North City said they have a tertiary qualification, compared with 32.2% for New Zealand as a whole. 23.4% of people aged 15 years and over (11,733) in Palmerston North City said they have no formal qualifications, compared with 27.6% of people aged 15 years and over in New Zealand. * Revised	25.0% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over (1,341) living in Palmerston North City said they have a tertiary qualification, compared with 21.2% for all Mäori people aged 15 years and over in New Zealand. 32.9% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over (1,764) in Palmerston North City said they have no formal qualifications, compared with 43.6% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over in New Zealand.

Income

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Income	Income
The median income of people in Palmerston North City is $17,200, compared with$18,500 for all of New Zealand. 55.3% of people aged 15 years and over in Palmerston North City have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with 52.8% for New Zealand as a whole. 9.4% of people aged 15 years and over in Palmerston North City have an annual income of more than $50,000, compared with 11.5% for New Zealand as a whole.	The median income of Mäori people in Palmerston North City is $14,900, compared with $14,800 for all Mäori in New Zealand. 60.6% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over in Palmerston North City have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with 61.2% for Mäori in New Zealand as a whole. 3.9% of Mäori people aged 15 years and over in Palmerston North City have an annual income of more than $50,000, compared with 5.2% for Mäori in New Zealand as a whole.

Employment and unemployment

Total population	Mäori ethnic population
Labour force status	Labour force status
The unemployment rate in Palmerston North City is 8.4%, compared with 7.5% for all of New Zealand. The most popular occupational group in Palmerston North City is service and sales workers. This is also the most popular occupational group in New Zealand as a whole.	The unemployment rate of Mäori in Palmerston North City is 16.0%, compared with 16.8% for all Mäori in New Zealand. The most popular occupational group for Mäori in Palmerston North City is service and sales workers. This is also the most popular occupational group for all Mäori in New Zealand.

Access to telecommunication systems

10,134 households or 40.1% in Palmerston North City have access to the Internet, compared with 37.4% for all of New Zealand. 726 households or 2.9% in Palmerston North City have no access to a telephone, compared with 3.7% for all of New Zealand.

Access to telecommunication systems

Households

In Palmerston North City, 66.1% (16,941) of all households are one-family households. For New Zealand as a whole, one-family households make up 69.1% of all households. 6,066 people in Palmerston North City live in one-person households, which is 23.7% of all households. In New Zealand as a whole, one-person households make up 23.4% of all households. Average household size in Palmerston North City is 2.6 people, compared with 2.7 people for New Zealand as a whole.

Household composition

Home ownership and rent

64.0% of permanent private dwellings in Palmerston North City are owned with or without a mortgage, compared with 68.8% for all of New Zealand.

For dwellings that are rented, the average weekly rent paid for permanent private dwellings in Palmerston North City is $157, compared with $176 for New Zealand as a whole.

Families

In Palmerston North City, couples with children (7,164 families) make up 40.4% of all families. Couples with no children make up 39.2% of all families. 20.4% of families (3,627) in Palmerston North City are one parent with child(ren) families, compared with 18.9% for New Zealand as a whole.

In New Zealand as a whole, couples with children make up 42.1% of all families and couples with no children make up 39.0% of all families.

All figures in this leaflet have been randomly rounded to base 3 to preserve confidentiality.

(1) The percentages in this leaflet are calculated against complete responses; that is, excluding cases where no answers were provided.