Mangawhai's empty homes
What the census
counted
On census night in 2023, Stats NZ counted 4,431 private dwellings in Mangawhai. 1,566 of them had nobody home. That is about one in three, more than three times the national rate. At Mangawhai Heads it was one in two.
Every fact links to where it came from. Checked 5 October 2026.
The short answer
In the 2023 Census, 1,566 of Mangawhai's 4,431 private dwellings (35.3%) were unoccupied on census night. At Mangawhai Heads the figure was 1,092 of 2,217 (49.3%). Across Kaipara District it was 23.1%, and across New Zealand 10.8%. The share has fallen since 2013 (48.3%) as more people live here year round. Source: Stats NZ place summaries.
In numbers
Private dwellings in Mangawhai (SA3)
4,431
2023 CensusUnoccupied on census night, Mangawhai (SA3)
1,566 (35.3%)
2023 CensusOccupied on census night, Mangawhai (SA3)
2,781
2023 CensusUnder construction, Mangawhai (SA3)
84
2023 CensusUnoccupied, Mangawhai Heads (SA2 109900)
1,092 of 2,217 (49.3%)
2023 CensusUnoccupied, Kaipara District
3,087 of 13,368 (23.1%)
2023 CensusUnoccupied, New Zealand
220,455 of 2,041,236 (10.8%)
2023 CensusUsually resident population, Mangawhai (SA3)
6,834 (up 117.4% since 2013)
2023 CensusMedian age, Mangawhai (SA3)
50.3 years (New Zealand 38.1)
2023 CensusEstimated resident population, Mangawhai (SA3)
7,210
30 June 2025 (Stats NZ estimate)Christmas peak, per council-commissioned report
Population "can be 3.5 times higher" than off peak
Beca HunterH2O peer review, 2023
The figures
| Area | 2013 | 2018 | 2023 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mangawhai (SA3): private dwellings | 2,892 (sum of 3 SA2s) | 3,696 | 4,431 | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai (SA3): unoccupied | 1,398 (48.3%) | 1,491 (40.3%) | 1,566 (35.3%) | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai (SA3): of which empty | 1,314 | 1,077 | not published in place summary | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai (SA3): of which residents away | 84 | 411 | not published in place summary | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai Heads (SA2 109900): unoccupied | 1,017 of 1,668 (61.0%) | 1,050 of 1,959 (53.6%) | 1,092 of 2,217 (49.3%) | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai (SA2 110100): unoccupied | 138 of 381 (36.2%) | 153 of 573 (26.7%) | 180 of 714 (25.2%) | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai Rural (SA2 109800): unoccupied | 243 of 843 (28.8%) | 291 of 1,167 (24.9%) | 294 of 1,500 (19.6%) | Stats NZ |
| Kaipara District: unoccupied | 2,937 of 10,914 (26.9%) | 3,186 of 12,231 (26.0%) | 3,087 of 13,368 (23.1%) | Stats NZ |
| New Zealand: unoccupied | 185,445 of 1,757,160 (10.6%) | 191,649 of 1,871,934 (10.2%) | 220,455 of 2,041,236 (10.8%) | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai (SA3): usually resident population | 3,144 | 5,034 (+60.1%) | 6,834 (+35.8%) | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai Heads: usually resident population | 1,239 | 1,995 (+61.0%) | 2,685 (+34.6%) | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai (SA2): usually resident population | 507 | 936 (+84.6%) | 1,206 (+28.8%) | Stats NZ |
| Mangawhai Rural: usually resident population | 1,398 | 2,100 (+50.2%) | 2,940 (+40.0%) | Stats NZ |
| Kaipara District: usually resident population | 18,963 | 22,869 (+20.6%) | 25,899 (+13.2%) | Stats NZ |
| New Zealand: usually resident population | 4,242,048 | 4,699,755 (+10.8%) | 4,993,923 (+6.3%) | Stats NZ |
| Median age: Mangawhai (SA3) | 51.9 | 52 | 50.3 | Stats NZ |
| Median age: Mangawhai Heads | 57.2 | 54.5 | 51 | Stats NZ |
| Median age: Mangawhai (SA2) | 56.2 | 53.5 | 50.6 | Stats NZ |
| Median age: Mangawhai Rural | 47.7 | 50.2 | 49.7 | Stats NZ |
| Median age: Kaipara District | 45.3 | 46 | 46.8 | Stats NZ |
| Median age: New Zealand | 38 | 37.4 | 38.1 | Stats NZ |
What counts as Mangawhai
Stats NZ groups Mangawhai into one Statistical Area 3 called Mangawhai (code 50350). It holds three Statistical Area 2 units:
- Mangawhai Heads (109900): the beach and surf side.
- Mangawhai (110100): the village around the harbour.
- Mangawhai Rural (109800): the farmland and lifestyle blocks around both.
The harbour itself is a separate SA2, Inlet Mangawhai Harbour (110000), with no dwellings published. All figures here use 2023 boundaries. Stats NZ re-coded the 2013 and 2018 data to match (place summary for Mangawhai SA3).
One in three homes had nobody in them
On census night in 2023, Mangawhai had 4,431 private dwellings. 2,781 were occupied, 1,566 were unoccupied and 84 were being built (Stats NZ).
That 35.3% unoccupied rate compares with 23.1% for Kaipara District and 10.8% for New Zealand.
Mangawhai Heads stands out. 1,092 of its 2,217 dwellings were unoccupied, exactly the same number as were occupied (Stats NZ).
Empty, or just away?
Stats NZ splits unoccupied dwellings into two groups. Empty means nobody usually lives there, such as a bach or a home between tenants. Residents away means the people who live there were elsewhere that night.
In 2013, almost all of Mangawhai's unoccupied homes were empty: 1,314 empty against 84 with residents away. In 2018 it was 1,077 empty against 411 away (Stats NZ 2018 Census CSV). The 2023 split is held in Aotearoa Data Explorer table CEN23_HOU_018 and is not shown in the place summaries.
The share is falling as people move in
Mangawhai's census population more than doubled in ten years, from 3,144 in 2013 to 6,834 in 2023 (Stats NZ). The number of dwellings grew more slowly, from 2,892 to 4,431.
So the share of homes sitting unoccupied fell from 48.3% in 2013 to 40.3% in 2018 and 35.3% in 2023. The count of unoccupied homes still rose, from 1,398 to 1,566.
An older population, getting younger
The median age in Mangawhai was 50.3 in 2023, against 38.1 nationally. It has dropped at the Heads, from 57.2 in 2013 to 51 in 2023 (Stats NZ).
What happens in summer
The census counts a single night. Council reports on the wastewater plant describe the peak. A 2023 peer review by Beca HunterH2O for Kaipara District Council says: "During the Christmas holiday peak period the population in Mangawhai can be 3.5 times higher than then non tourist off peak period" (Beca HunterH2O, 2023).
A 2022 WSP master plan for the council assumes each connected home holds "2.7 people at off peak season, but 600 litres per day and 5.4 people per day during peak population season", based on 2018 data (WSP, 21 January 2022).
Using these figures
All census counts have had Stats NZ's fixed random rounding applied, so parts may not add exactly to totals. The 2013 SA3 totals are sums of the three SA2s. Percentages are unoccupied dwellings divided by total private dwellings, including those under construction. Please cite Stats NZ as the source.
Questions people ask
How many homes in Mangawhai were empty on census night 2023?
Is that high for New Zealand?
What is the population of Mangawhai?
How fast is Mangawhai growing?
How many people are in Mangawhai in summer?
Sources
- 01Stats NZ place summary: Mangawhai (SA3 50350)
- 02Stats NZ place summary: Mangawhai Heads (SA2 109900)
- 03Stats NZ place summary: Mangawhai (SA2 110100)
- 04Stats NZ place summary: Mangawhai Rural (SA2 109800)
- 05Stats NZ place summary: Kaipara District
- 06Stats NZ place summary: New Zealand
- 07Stats NZ CSV: Occupied dwellings, unoccupied dwellings, and dwellings under construction, 2006, 2013, and 2018 Censuses (RC, TA, SA2, DHB)
- 08Beca HunterH2O, Mangawhai CWWTP Options Report Peer Review (for Kaipara District Council, 2023)
- 09WSP, Mangawhai Community Wastewater System Master Plan Strategy (draft, 21 January 2022)
- 10NZ Herald / Northern Advocate, Denise Piper, 13 Sep 2024: Beach town Mangawhai set to continue growing as another 600 houses approved
Rules and numbers change. If something here is out of date, the linked source is the one to trust, and we’d like to hear about it.