The statistical area of Maungatapere, which at 174 square kilometres is much larger than the settlement, had a population of 3,477 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 483 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 720 people since the 2006 census. There were 1,191 households. There were 1,764 males and 1,713 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. Of the total population, 756 people were aged up to 15 years, 501 were 15 to 29, 1,659 were 30 to 64, and 564 were 65 or older. Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding. Ethnicities were 89.0% European/Pākehā, 19.0% Māori, 1.2% Pacific peoples, 2.9% Asian, and 2.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 16.2, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 55.0% had no religion, 34.8% were Christian, and 3.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 531 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 468 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,500. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,446 people were employed full-time, 516 were part-time, and 63 were unemployed.
History
Thomas Elmsley bought of land in Maungatapere and northern Wairoa from Te Tirarau Kukupa in 1839, and in 1840 he and the brothers Henry and Charles Walton came with workers to establish farms in the area. Henry Walton's farm was on the slopes of Maungatapere Mountain and was called "Maungatapere Park". After the Flagstaff War, Walton employed former soldiers to build stone walls which are still a feature of the area. Henry Walton married Kohura, Te Tirarau Kukupa's niece, in 1846. After she died in childbirth, he married her sister, Pehi, but she died in a measles epidemic in 1856. Walton built a road between Maungatapere and Whangarei in 1858. He also became involved in coal mining and shipbuilding, and was one of the partners in the timber mill at Te Kōpuru. Walton was one of the founding shareholders in the Bank of New Zealand. In 1863 he became a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council and two years later he was elected to the Auckland Provincial Council. However, in 1867 he left New Zealand and returned to England.
Education
Maungatapere School is a coeducational full primary school with a roll of students (as of The school celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2004.
