Waitara, comprising the statistical areas of Waitara West and Waitara East which cover and respectively, had a population of 6,918 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 435 people (6.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 627 people (10.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,613 households. There were 3,369 males and 3,543 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female, with 1,512 people (21.9%) aged under 15 years, 1,311 (19.0%) aged 15 to 29, 2,799 (40.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,296 (18.7%) aged 65 or older.