Ōmokoroa

Ōmokoroa is a small urban area in the Western Bay of Plenty District of New Zealand. The suburb is considered part of Greater Tauranga (contributing towards its population of ), and is within the Coromandel electorate. Ōmokoroa began as a small rural holiday village, but is expanding to be a commuter town, with a 25-minute drive to Tauranga City.

Ōmokoroa urban area had an estimated population of as of It is situated within the Kaimai Ward, Western Bay of Plenty. Ōmokoroa includes the urban area on the harbour side of State Highway 2, along with Youngson Road to Plummers Point Road, and parts of Old Highway Road. Part of Ōmokoroa was designated a Special Housing Area in 2016 to encourage the building of affordable homes.

The 2020 Ōmokoroa Town Centre Masterplan envisaged a population of 12,500 by 2026, although it said this might be optimistic. A 2025 estimate gives a population of 13,000 by 2050.

Demographics

Stats NZ describes Ōmokoroa as a small urban area which covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km².

Ōmokoroa had a population of 5,451 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,163 people (65.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 3,048 people (126.8%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,583 males, 2,856 females, and 12 people of other genders in 2,154 dwellings. 2.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 49.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,011 people (18.5%) aged under 15 years, 618 (11.3%) aged 15 to 29, 2,073 (38.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,749 (32.1%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 91.4% European (Pākehā); 11.6% Māori; 2.1% Pasifika; 4.9% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.4%, Māori by 2.0%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 10.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.9% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 28.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 34.2% Christian, 0.6% Hindu, 0.1% Islam, 0.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.1%, and 7.3% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,056 (23.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,457 (55.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 924 (20.8%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $37,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 564 people (12.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 1,761 (39.7%) full-time, 585 (13.2%) part-time, and 87 (2.0%) unemployed.

Communication

The postcodes for the area are:
*3114 – Railway line to harbour edge
*3172 – Railway line towards SH2

The dialing prefix(es) for the town are
*(+64) 7 548

Education

Omokoroa No.1 School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . It opened in 1900.

Ōmokoroa Point School is another co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . It opened in the Omokoroa Settlers Hall in 1929 as Omokoroa No 2 School and moved to its own building as Omokoroa Point School in 1959.

The nearest zoned secondary schools in the area are Otumoetai College, Tauranga Boys' College and Tauranga Girls' College. Katikati College and the private Bethlehem College are also nearby.

References

External links

Community website

{{Western Bay of Plenty District

Western Bay of Plenty District
Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region
Populated places around the Tauranga Harbour