Western Heights, Auckland
Western Heights is a neighbourhood of Henderson, in West Auckland, New Zealand. Western Heights School and the nearby shops are the centre of the community. Western Heights is a "frontier suburb", separating suburban Auckland from lifestyle farming blocks, orchards and the Waitākere Ranges.
Part of the area was called Summerland, from an export apple grown in local orchards in the mid-20th century.
History
In the 1920s, the area was sparsely populated. The Sturges Road area was home to orchards, primarily grown by immigrant families from Dalmatia.Demographics
Western Heights covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.Western Heights had a population of 9,291 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 33 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 780 people since the 2013 census. There were 4,575 males, 4,704 females and 18 people of other genders in 2,817 dwellings. 1.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 1,785 people aged under 15 years, 1,755 aged 15 to 29, 4,473 aged 30 to 64, and 1,278 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 41.5% European ; 10.2% Māori; 12.2% Pasifika; 45.9% Asian; 2.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 92.3%, Māori language by 2.3%, Samoan by 3.5%, and other languages by 36.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.3%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 46.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 36.2% Christian, 9.0% Hindu, 4.6% Islam, 0.6% Māori religious beliefs, 2.2% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 39.5%, and 6.0% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,322 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 3,267 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,926 people exclusively held high school qualifications. 972 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,080 people were employed full-time, 870 were part-time, and 207 were unemployed.
| Name | Area | Population | Density | Dwellings | Median age | Median income |
| Summerland South | 1.33 | 3,132 | 2,355 | 969 | 38.7 years | $44,500 |
| Summerland North | 0.85 | 2,532 | 2,979 | 819 | 38.3 years | $47,100 |
| Western Heights | 1.07 | 3,627 | 3,390 | 1,029 | 37.2 years | $44,700 |
| New Zealand | 38.1 years | $41,500 |
Education
Western Heights School and Summerland Primary are coeducational contributing primary schools with rolls of and respectively, as of Summerland Primary opened in 2002. The area is named for the summerland apple variety once grown there.The local State secondary schools are Henderson High School, Waitakere College, Massey High School, Liston College and St Dominic's College.