Epuni
Suburb of Lower Hutt, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Epuni is a suburb of Lower Hutt, situated in the Wellington region of New Zealand. The suburb lies around one kilometre east of the Lower Hutt CBD.
Epuni | |
|---|---|
Epuni Street | |
 Interactive map of Epuni | |
| Coordinates: 41.208°S 174.930°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| City | Lower Hutt |
| Local authority | Hutt City Council |
| Electoral ward | Central |
| Area | |
| • Land | 199 ha (490 acres) |
| Population (June 2025)[2] | |
• Total | 6,940 |
| • Density | 3,490/km2 (9,030/sq mi) |
| Train stations | Epuni Station |
| Boulcott | Naenae | |
| Hutt Central |
  Epuni  |
Fairfield |
| Waterloo |
The suburb takes its name from the Te Āti Awa chief Honiana Te Puni.[3]
In 2018 HNZ, which in October 2019 became part of Kaingaora Ora Homes and Communities,[4] announced that it was to build 153 homes on long-vacant land in Epuni where earlier HNZ houses had been demolished.[5]
Demographics
Epuni, comprising the statistical areas of Epuni West and Epuni East, covers 1.99 km2 (0.77 sq mi).[1] It had an estimated population of 6,940 as of June 2025, with a population density of 3,487 people per km2.
Epuni had a population of 6,441 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 402 people (6.7%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 549 people (9.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,102 males, 3,312 females, and 24 people of other genders in 2,412 dwellings.[8] 3.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,191 people (18.5%) aged under 15 years, 1,143 (17.7%) aged 15 to 29, 3,069 (47.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,035 (16.1%) aged 65 or older.[6]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 58.2% European (Pākehā); 14.5% Māori; 9.1% Pasifika; 26.5% Asian; 3.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 94.1%, Māori by 3.5%, Samoan by 3.4%, and other languages by 24.0%. No language could be spoken by 2.4% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 32.8, compared with 28.8% nationally.[6]
Religious affiliations were 34.0% Christian, 6.1% Hindu, 4.1% Islam, 0.8% Māori religious beliefs, 1.7% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, and 2.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 45.3%, and 5.9% of people did not answer the census question.[6]
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,683 (32.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,319 (44.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,248 (23.8%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $45,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 828 people (15.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 2,805 (53.4%) full-time, 669 (12.7%) part-time, and 156 (3.0%) unemployed.[6]