Central Napier

Central Napier is the central area and business district of Napier, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's eastern North Island. The main shopping street/downtown area of Napier is Emerson Street. Central Napier enjoys Art Deco style architecture on surrounding buildings in Emerson Street. Most houses were built between 1900 and 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Central Napier
Suburb
Blythe Memorial Fountain
Coordinates: 39.491875°S 176.913612°E / -39.491875; 176.913612
Country	New Zealand
City	Napier
Local authority	Napier City Council
Electoral ward	Nelson Park (mostly), Ahuriri
Area [1]
• Land	84 ha (210 acres)
Population  (June 2024)[2]
• Total	510

Hospital Hill	Bluff Hill
	Central Napier	(Hawke Bay)
	Napier South

Economy

Retail

Mid City Plaza opened between 1920 and 1933. It covers 3,177 m², and had 9 tenants and 20 carparks in May 2019.^[3]

Ocean Boulevard Mall opened in 1976. It contained just two tenants and no publicly available carparks in March 2020.^[4]

Demographics

Napier Central covers 0.84 km² (0.32 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 510 as of June 2024,^[2] with a population density of 607 people per km².

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	405	—
2013	414	+0.31%
2018	420	+0.29%
2023	384	−1.78%
Source: [5][6]

Clive Square

Napier Central had a population of 384 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 36 people (−8.6%) since the 2018 census, and a decrease of 30 people (−7.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 213 males, 162 females, and 9 people of other genders in 198 dwellings.^[7] 5.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 38.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 42 people (10.9%) aged under 15 years, 90 (23.4%) aged 15 to 29, 207 (53.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 48 (12.5%) aged 65 or older.^[5]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 57.8% European (Pākehā), 39.8% Māori, 6.2% Pasifika, 18.0% Asian, and 1.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 93.0%, Māori by 7.8%, Samoan by 1.6%, and other languages by 15.6%. No language could be spoken by 1.6% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 2.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 27.3, compared with 28.8% nationally.^[5]

Religious affiliations were 25.8% Christian, 3.9% Hindu, 3.1% Māori religious beliefs, 7.0% Buddhist, and 4.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.9%, and 3.1% of people did not answer the census question.^[5]

Of those at least 15 years old, 48 (14.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 177 (51.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 120 (35.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $34,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 21 people (6.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 186 (54.4%) full-time, 33 (9.6%) part-time, and 15 (4.4%) unemployed.^[5]