Napier South

Napier South is a suburb of the city of Napier, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's eastern North Island.^[3] For some purposes, such as postal, it extends to include the Napier Central statistical area (the central business district), which is covered here at Central Napier.

Napier South
Suburb
Coordinates: 39.500°S 176.913°E / -39.500; 176.913
Country	New Zealand
City	Napier
Local authority	Napier City Council
Electoral ward	Nelson Park
Area [1]
• Land	78 ha (190 acres)
Population  (June 2024)[2]
• Total	{2,300

Hospital Hill		Central Napier
Marewa	Napier South	(Hawke Bay)
Meeanee	Te Awa

Demographics

The statistical area of Nelson Park, which corresponds to Napier South, covers 0.78 km² (0.30 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 2,300 as of June 2024,^[2] with a population density of 1,085 people per km².

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	2,043	—
2013	2,139	+0.66%
2018	2,181	+0.39%
2023	2,172	−0.08%
Source: [4][5]

Nelson Park had a population of 2,172 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 9 people (−0.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 33 people (1.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,026 males, 1,137 females, and 9 people of other genders in 840 dwellings.^[6] 2.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 426 people (19.6%) aged under 15 years, 387 (17.8%) aged 15 to 29, 975 (44.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 384 (17.7%) aged 65 or older.^[4]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 82.3% European (Pākehā); 22.1% Māori; 3.6% Pasifika; 5.0% Asian; 2.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.8%, Māori by 3.7%, Samoan by 0.8%, and other languages by 8.0%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.0, compared with 28.8% nationally.^[4]

Religious affiliations were 27.3% Christian, 0.8% Hindu, 1.4% Islam, 2.2% Māori religious beliefs, 1.0% Buddhist, 0.6% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 2.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 57.3%, and 7.5% of people did not answer the census question.^[4]

Of those at least 15 years old, 366 (21.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 948 (54.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 435 (24.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $36,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 177 people (10.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 831 (47.6%) full-time, 267 (15.3%) part-time, and 54 (3.1%) unemployed.^[4]

Napier South on the flat in about the early 1930s. The large oval of Nelson Park is in the distance, just left of centre.

Education

Nelson Park School is a co-educational Year 0–6 state primary school situated on Kennedy Road/Jull Street with a roll of 345.^[7] It opened as Napier West School in 1914.^[8]

Napier Intermediate is a co-educational state intermediate school situated on Jull Street with a roll of 381.^[9] It was founded in 1933.^[10] It sits on what was originally going to be the second site of Napier Technical College, but this did not happen due to the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.^[11]

Both schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of July 2025.^[12]