Executive summary

This report presents an overview of children (0 to 14 years) and young people (15 to 24 years) in Auckland, based on data from the 2023 Census. The report outlines changes over time since the 2018 Census, and, where possible, the 2013 Census. Key findings from the report are summarised below:

Numbers and growth

• In 2023, there were 539,829 children and young people (0 to 24 years of age) in Auckland, equating to a third (32.6%) of the total Auckland population.
• The overall number of children and young people remained relatively stable between 2018 and 2023, growing by 2304 (+0.4 per cent).
• Although there was a growth in absolute numbers, the proportion of children and young people in Auckland decreased from 35.9 per cent in 2013 to 34.2 per cent in 2018 and 32.6 per cent in 2023.
• There are slightly more children and young people who identify as male (50.8%) than female (48.7%).

Geographical distribution

• The local board areas with the highest proportions of children and young people are in southern urban Auckland¹. The three local board areas with the highest proportions are: Māngere-Ōtāhuhu (40.6%), Manurewa (39.8%) and Ōtara-Papatoetoe (38.9%).
• The local board areas with the lowest proportion of children and young people are in the island local board areas: Waiheke (21.1%) and Aotea/Great Barrier (21.1%).
• A relatively large proportion of those living in Waitematā Local Board area are aged 15 to 24 (19.4%), driven in part by the large student population living in the city centre.

Dwellings and households

• In 2023, nearly all children and young people (500,505 or 99.0 per cent) in Auckland lived in a private dwelling.
• Most (82.9%) children and young people living in private dwellings lived in separate houses (414,813). However, there is a growing number living in joined dwellings, an increase of 34,062 (+66.9 per cent) since 2018.
• In 2023, most (81.6%) children and young people lived in a one-family household. Over one in ten (12.1%) lived in two-family households.
• Just over three quarters of family households with at least one child under 18 years of age consisted of couples with children (77.3% or 154,953 families) while over one in five were single-parent families (22.7% or 45,543 families).
• In 2023, 8.8 per cent of children (0 to 14 years) in Auckland were living in a severely crowded household, similar to 2018 (8.2%). For those aged 15 to 29 years, 9.8 per cent were living in a severely crowded household, down from 10.2 per cent in 2018.
• The proportion of children who lived in dwellings which always have mould (6.9%) or are always damp (4.6%) has declined since 2018 (8.4% and 6.1% respectively). Likewise, the proportion of young people who lived in dwellings which always have mould (7.3%) and dampness (4.6%) declined since 2018 (8.4% and 5.5% respectively). This is part of a general pattern across all households.
• Over a quarter of all children (27.9%) and young people (27.1%) lived in areas rated as relatively deprived on the New Zealand Deprivation Index in 2023.

Ethnic and cultural diversity

• In 2023, almost half (47.4%) of those aged 0 to 24 years were in the broad European ethnic category, equating to 255,612 people. The next largest group were those classified under the broad Asian category (30.4% or 163,920 people), followed by Pacific Peoples (25.0% or 134,754 people) and Māori (18.1% or 97,590 people).
• Almost half of all Auckland usual residents in the broad Pacific Peoples ethnic group (49.0%) and in the Māori ethnic group (47.9%) were children and young people in 2023, compared with 31.0 per cent of the broad European group and 31.7 percent of the Asian group.
• One in five (20.8%) children and young people had more than one ethnic identity. This is a considerably higher proportion than the rest of the Auckland population (7.6%).
• After English (90.7% of children and young people), Samoan was the next most common language spoken (26,622 speakers, or 4.9%), followed by Northern Chinese (18,834, or 3.5%) and Māori (16,845, or 3.1%).
• Around one in five children and young people in Auckland were born overseas (21.7%, or 115,971 people). This is lower than in 2018 (23.5%) and 2013 (24.4%).

Educational qualifications

• The most common highest educational qualification among young people was the Level 3 certificate, with 31.0 per cent stating this as their highest qualification.
• Around one in eight (12.9%) had not received any qualification. This is higher among those aged 15 to 19 (21.9%), who may still be working towards a qualification, dropping to six per cent among those aged 20 to 24.
• The proportion of young people who have not received any qualifications has dropped steadily between 2013 and 2023 (from 15.0% to 12.7%).

Employment and income

• At the 2023 Census, 123,546 young people were in paid employment (working one or more hours per week) - 39.9 per cent of those aged 15 to 19 and 71.3 per cent of those aged 20 to 24.
• Young people are highly represented in several occupations, particularly sales workers (33.1%  were young people), labourers (28.2%) and community and personal service workers (25.2%).
• The unemployment rate² among those aged 15 to 19 was 16.1 per cent, down from 30.5 per cent in 2013 and 21.2 per cent in 2018. The unemployment rate among those aged 20 to 24 was 8.0 per cent, down from 15.2 per cent in 2013 and 9.6 per cent in 2018.
• The unemployment rate varies across Auckland by local board area, with the highest unemployment rates being in Māngere-Ōtāhuhu (15.9%), Manurewa (14.8%), and Papakura (14.7%) and the lowest unemployment rates being in Waiheke (6.8%), Rodney (7.5%) and Devonport-Takapuna (7.7%).

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¹This area covers Māngere-Ōtāhuhu, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Papakura and Manurewa local board areas. This is the area covered by The Southern Initiative which champions, stimulates and enables social and community innovation in southern urban Auckland. 

²Note that the official unemployment rate is produced by Stats NZ based on the Household Labour Force Survey. For more information about work and labour force status, please see the Auckland regional household labour force survey: quarterly overview, available on Knowledge Auckland.

Auckland Council, May 2025

See also

2023 Census results for Auckland. Summary reports