Cashmere Ward census and population data

• In 2023, the Census usually resident population count of Cashmere ward was 26,400. This was 6.7% of Christchurch City's population.
• Between 2018 and 2023, this ward's population increased by approximately 1,100 people, or 4.5%. Christchurch City's population increased by 6.1%.
• A more recent and comprehensive population count, which takes into account those not counted in the census, as well as any births, deaths or migrations, is available. As of June 2024, this ward's estimated population was 26,900.

Population statistics - user guide(external link) provides an overview of the different population statistics produced by Statistics New Zealand(external link).

Life-cycle age groups

• The median age was 42.8 years for people in Cashmere ward in 2023. The median age in Christchurch City was 37.5 years.
• In this ward, 18% of people were aged under 15 years, 16% were aged 15 to 29 years, 48% were aged 30 to 64 years, and 18% were aged 65 years and over.
• This ward had a lower proportion of people aged 15 to 29 years than for all of Christchurch City.
• This ward had a higher proportion of people aged 0 to 14 years and 30 to 64 years than for all of Christchurch City.

Ethnic groups

• The most common ethnic group in Cashmere ward was European, with 90% of the population identifying with this ethnic group in 2023. For Christchurch City as a whole, this was 76%.
• The next most common ethnic group in Cashmere ward was Māori (7.5%), followed by Asian (6.6%), Pacific Peoples (1.8%) and Middle Eastern/Latin American/African (MELAA) (1.6%).
  
  

Rainbow indicator

• In Cashmere ward, 4.7% of adults belonged to the LGBTIQ+ (rainbow) population, compared with 6% for all of Christchurch City.
  
  

Birthplace

• 24% of people in Cashmere ward were born overseas, compared with 28% for Christchurch City as a whole.
• For people born overseas who are now living in Cashmere ward, the most common birthplace region was the United Kingdom and Ireland (40%). For Christchurch City, the most common birthplace region for those born overseas was Asia (46%).
• Most overseas-born migrants living in Cashmere ward have been living in New Zealand for 10 years or longer (65%).

Work and labour force status

• In 2023, 51% of those aged 15 years and over in Cashmere ward were employed full-time, compared with 50% city-wide.
• 17% were employed part-time, while 31% were not in the labour force (e.g. students who do not also work, retired people, stay-at-home parents, and those unable to work due to sickness/disability).
• In 2023, 2% of people were unemployed. This was lower than the proportion for all of Christchurch City (2.7%). 
  
  

Occupation

• The most common occupational group in this ward was 'Professionals' (39%). 'Professionals' was also the most common occupational group for all of Christchurch City (29%).
• The next most common occupational groupings in this ward were 'Managers' (18%) and 'Technicians and Trades Workers' (11%).
  
  

Study status

• 22% of people aged 15 years and over were engaged in full-time study, compared with 21% city-wide.
• 4.1% of people aged 15 years and over were engaged in part-time study. This was slightly higher than the proportion for all of Christchurch City (3.6%). 
  
  

Highest qualification

• In 2023, 90% of people aged 15 years and over in Cashmere ward had a formal qualification, compared with 86% for Christchurch City as a whole.
• In Cashmere ward, 41% of people aged 15 years and over held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 29% for Christchurch City as a whole.

Households

• In 2023, there were 10,100 households in Cashmere ward.
• The majority of these households (71%) were one-family households. This is compared with 64% for all of Christchurch.
• One-person households made up 23% of all households, compared with 26% city-wide.
• Other multi-person households (e.g. flatting situations) made up 4.2% of this ward's households, compared with 7.4% city-wide.
  
  

Families

• In 2023, there were 7,400 families living in Cashmere ward.
• 43% of families were couples without children, compared with 43% city-wide.
• 45% of families were couples with child(ren), compared with 40% city-wide.
• 12% of families were one-parent with child(ren), compared with 16% city-wide. 
  
  

Household access to telecommunications

• 94% of households in this ward had access to the internet at home, compared with 91% of all Christchurch households.
• 96% of households had access to a cellphone/mobile phone, compared with 94% city-wide.

Personal income

• The median personal income for residents (aged 15 years and over) living in Cashmere ward was $49,400 in 2023. This is compared with a median of $40,400 for all of Christchurch City.
• 22% of people aged 15 years and over in this ward had an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with 25% of people for Christchurch City as a whole.
• In Cashmere ward, 35% of people aged 15 years and over had an annual income of more than $70,000, compared with 24% of people in Christchurch City. 
  
  

Household income

• The median income for households in Cashmere ward was $112,600 in 2023. This is compared with a median of $90,600 for all of Christchurch City.
• 11% of households in this ward had an annual income of $30,000 or less, compared with 15% of households for Christchurch City as a whole.
• 55% of households in this ward had an annual income of more than $100,000, compared with 45% of households in Christchurch City.
  
  

Family income

• The median personal income for families living in Cashmere ward was $133,400 in 2023. This is compared with a median of $107,000 for all of Christchurch City.
• 3% of families in this ward had an annual income of $30,000 or less, compared with 6% of families for Christchurch City as a whole.
• 66% of families had an annual income of more than $100,000, compared with 54% of families in Christchurch City.

Deprivation

• NZDep2023(external link) is a good indicator of small-area socioeconomic deprivation. The scale of deprivation ranges from 1 to 10:
• • 1 represents the areas with the least deprived scores.
  • 10 represents the areas with the most deprived scores.
  • Nationally, equal proportions of the population (about 10%) live in each decile.
• In Cashmere ward, around 2% of this ward's population lived in the 'most deprived' areas (i.e. deciles 9 and 10), compared with 16% of all of Christchurch City's population.
• Around 56% of this ward's population lived in the 'least deprived' areas (i.e. deciles 1 and 2), compared with 22% of all of Christchurch City's population.
• View interactive map down to street block level(external link) (Massey University)
  
  

The 2023 deprivation index(external link) was developed by researchers at the University of Otago and combines nine variables from the 2023 census, which reflect dimensions of socio-economic deprivation. NZDep2023 provides a deprivation score for each meshblock in New Zealand – a meshblock is generally the size of a street block in urban areas, containing approximately 30 to 60 dwellings. Deprivation scores apply to areas rather than individual people.

• In 2023, 5.8% of this ward's population aged 5 years and over were classed as disabled, according to census responses. This is compared with 7.5% for all of Christchurch.

A person is regarded as disabled if they have 'a lot of difficulty' or 'cannot do at all' one or more of the six activities in the activity limitations questions. These six questions are the Washington Group Short Set of questions on disability and are referred to as activity limitations in the 2023 census. The questions relate to difficulty seeing, hearing, walking or climbing steps, remembering or concentrating, washing all over or dressing, and communicating.

Number of motor vehicles

• In 2023, 4.7% of households in Cashmere ward did not have a motor vehicle, compared to 7.1% of all Christchurch households.
• 76% of households had either one or two motor vehicles, compared with 74% city-wide.
  
  

Travel to work

• In 2023, 63% of workers who lived in Cashmere ward (aged 15 years or over) usually travelled to work in a private or company car/truck/van, either as a driver or passenger. City-wide, this was 72%.
• 3.1% usually travelled by bus, 14% by bicycle, 2.3% by walking/jogging, while 16% usually worked at home.
  
  

Travel to education

• In 2023, 47% of students who lived in Cashmere ward usually travelled to their place of education in a car/truck/van, either as a driver or passenger. City-wide, this was 50%.
• 13% usually travelled by bus, 7.4% by bicycle, 18% by walking/jogging, while 12% usually studied at home.

Dwellings

• In 2023, there were 11,100 dwellings in Cashmere ward. Of these, 10,200 were occupied dwellings (92%), and around 7% were unoccupied private dwellings (i.e. the dwelling was either empty or the occupants were away).
• Almost 1% of all dwellings were under construction.
• Of the occupied private dwellings, 81% were separate houses and 19% were two or more flats/units/townhouses/apartments joined together. 
  
  

Home ownership and rentals

• 79% of households in Cashmere ward owned the dwelling that they lived in (includes family trusts). This was 65% for all of Christchurch.
• For the households renting their dwelling in this ward, the majority paid rent to a private landlord (89%).
• 7.4% of rented dwellings were owned by Housing New Zealand/Kāinga Ora, compared with 12% for all of Christchurch City.
• 1.8% of rented dwellings were Council-owned housing, compared with 2.3% of city-wide dwellings.
• Median rent was $440, compared with $415 for Christchurch City as a whole.

Further information about census variables used in these profiles, including definitions and data quality ratings(external link).