Reefton had a population of 927 at the 2018 New Zealand census, a decrease of 129 people (-12.2%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 54 people (-5.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 447 households. There were 471 males and 456 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 51.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 132 people (14.2%) aged under 15 years, 120 (12.9%) aged 15 to 29, 453 (48.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 222 (23.9%) aged 65 or older.