Prestons is a suburb on the northeastern side of Christchurch city. The suburb is named for Thomas Herbert Preston (1824–1884), a local resident and chair of the Avon Road Board. It was first planned as a residential suburb in 2007, and constructed in the 2010s. The suburb has a main exit to Preston Road at the north, and a minor one to the east. An exit to the south to reduce congestion has been delayed by disagreements over the intersection design. The new exit was still delayed in May 2023.

Demographics

Prestons covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Before the 2023 census, the suburb had a smaller boundary, covering . Using that boundary, Prestons had a population of 3,048 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 2,811 people (1186.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 2,886 people (1781.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,137 households, comprising 1,485 males and 1,566 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 39.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 624 people (20.5%) aged under 15 years, 462 (15.2%) aged 15 to 29, 1,428 (46.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 534 (17.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 87.7% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 8.1%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 1.8% Pasifika, 8.8% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 19.8, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.4% had no religion, 39.2% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.1% had

Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 1.6% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 0.2% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 0.5% were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and 1.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 591 (24.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 306 (12.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $43,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 627 people (25.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,317 (54.3%) people were employed full-time, 378 (15.6%) were part-time, and 51 (2.1%) were unemployed.

References

{{Christchurch City, New Zealand Suburbs of Christchurch Populated places in the Canterbury Region