The Hutt City Council formally defines Waterloo as the area bounded by Waterloo Road and Burnside Street in the north, the Hutt Valley railway line in the west, Guthrie Street in the south, and the Wainuiomata hills in the east.[4]
Waterloo, comprising the statistical areas of Waterloo West and Waterloo East, covers 1.81 km2 (0.70 sq mi).[1] It had an estimated population of 5,950 as of June 2024, with a population density of 3,287 people per km2.
Waterloo had a population of 5,379 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 255 people (5.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 243 people (4.7%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,013 households, comprising 2,598 males and 2,784 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female, with 1,068 people (19.9%) aged under 15 years, 951 (17.7%) aged 15 to 29, 2,562 (47.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 801 (14.9%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 70.2% European/Pākehā, 10.2% Māori, 5.1% Pasifika, 22.2% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 29.0, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 48.2% had no religion, 37.1% were Christian, 0.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 5.1% were Hindu, 1.0% were Muslim, 1.3% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,410 (32.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 579 (13.4%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,089 people (25.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,274 (52.7%) people were employed full-time, 603 (14.0%) were part-time, and 156 (3.6%) were unemployed.[5]
The Waiwhetū Stream is a small watercourse that flows through Waterloo and drains the eastern side of the Hutt Valley. It enters Wellington Harbour at the Hutt River estuary. Development and urbanisation of the Hutt Valley since the arrival of settlers led to increasing pollution and degradation of the stream environment. The stream was diverted into concrete culverts in many sections in an attempt to reduce flooding. Industrial development in the area around the lower reaches of the stream led to that section becoming an industrial sewer. In 2010, the stream was described as one of the most polluted waterways in New Zealand.[12]
Pressure from the community beginning around 2003 helped to trigger a major project to clean up the lower reaches. This project was declared complete in June 2010, after the removal of 56,000 tonnes of toxic waste. In 2010-11, a community group was formed to lead restoration of the upper reaches of the stream. Over a period of 10 years, volunteers cleared invasive aquatic weeds and rubbish from 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of the stream bed and established around 34,000 locally-sourced native plants on the banks of the stream.[13]
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