Otangarei is a suburb of Whangārei, in Northland Region, New Zealand.^[3]

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Otangarei
Suburb
Coordinates: 35°41′34″S 174°19′9″E
Country	New Zealand
City	Whangarei District Council
Electoral ward	Whangārei Urban Ward
Area [1]
• Land	77 ha (190 acres)
Population  (June 2023)[2]
• Total	2,360

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Kamo		Tikipunga
Whau Valley	Otangarei
Kensington	Mairtown	(Mount Parihaka)

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of [a] group of people leaping" for Ōtāngarei.^[4]

Te Kotahitanga Marae o Otangarei is the community's local marae. It is a meeting ground for the Ngāpuhi hapū of Uri o Te Tangata,^[5] and features Te Puawaitanga Hou meeting house.^[6]

Otangarei covers 0.77 km² (0.30 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 2,360 as of June 2023,^[2] with a population density of 3,065 people per km².

Before the 2023 census, the suburb had a larger boundary, covering 1.04 km² (0.40 sq mi).^[1] Using that boundary, Otangarei had a population of 2,109 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 474 people (29.0%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 30 people (−1.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 585 households, comprising 1,071 males and 1,044 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 28.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 624 people (29.6%) aged under 15 years, 465 (22.0%) aged 15 to 29, 813 (38.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 210 (10.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 30.2% European/Pākehā, 78.4% Māori, 11.1% Pacific peoples, 1.7% Asian, and 1.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 5.7, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 44.4% had no religion, 32.6% were Christian, 14.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% were Hindu, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.1% were Buddhist and 0.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 57 (3.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 462 (31.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $17,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 30 people (2.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 435 (29.3%) people were employed full-time, 189 (12.7%) were part-time, and 177 (11.9%) were unemployed.^[7]

Te Kura o Otangarei is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 1^[8] and 74 students as of February 2024.^[9] It opened in 1955 as Otangarei Primary School and opened its full immersion Māori language unit in 1996. It expanded to include year 7 and 8 students in 2004, and adopted its current name in 2006.^[10] The school offers a choice between full immersion Māori language classes, bilingual classes or mainstream education.^[11]

As of 2018, there are also adult education classes in Te Reo Māori, Tikanga Marae and Waiata on a weekly basis for both the Otangarei and wider communities held at Te Puawaitanga Marae by Shaquille Shortland.