Te Rapa is a mixed light industrial, large-scale retail and semi-rural suburb to the northwest of central Hamilton, New Zealand that is built on a flat area that was previously the bed of an ancient river, the forerunner to the present Waikato River. Stretching in a long, thin north–south axis, Te Rapa is home to many factories including Te Rapa Dairy Factory, one of the largest of its kind in the world. Te Rapa has freight and locomotive depots on the North Island Main Trunk railway. History Te Rapa and neighbouring Pukete were important sites for the kauri gum trade of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, being some of the southern-most locations where gum could be found. Demographics Te Rapa covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Te Rapa had a population of 294 at the 2018 New Zealand census, a decrease of 12 people (−3.9%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 33 people (−10.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 102 households, comprising 171 males and 126 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.36 males per female, with 51 people (17.3%) aged under 15 years, 54 (18.4%) aged 15 to 29, 138 (46.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 45 (15.3%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 82.7% European/Pākehā, 21.4% Māori, 2.0% Pacific peoples, 8.2% Asian, and 1.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 15.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.0% had no religion, 33.7% were Christian, 1.0% were Hindu, 2.0% were Muslim and 3.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 45 (18.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 45 (18.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 30 people (12.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 132 (54.3%) people were employed full-time, 39 (16.0%) were part-time, and 6 (2.5%) were unemployed. Te Rapa area unit had these census results - For the 2018 census there were some boundary changes and north and south are shown above. For comparison, the equivalent 2013 populations were 186 (North) and 120 (South), which is 33 fewer than in the earlier area. The median age at the 2013 census is high at 74.5 and