Putāruru had a population of 4,314 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 369 people (9.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 384 people (9.8%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,626 households. There were 2,088 males and 2,229 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female. The median age was 44 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 888 people (20.6%) aged under 15 years, 684 (15.9%) aged 15 to 29, 1,740 (40.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,005 (23.3%) aged 65 or older.