The city borders Porirua to the north, Upper Hutt to the northeast, South Wairarapa District to the east, and Wellington to the southwest and west.

The council represents a population of 114,500 as of June 2024[2] and consists of a mayor and twelve councillors, with six elected from six wards (Northern, Central, Western, Eastern, Harbour, and Wainuiomata) and six at-large.

[4] Chair, Traffic Subcommittee Eastern Ward returns one councillor to the Hutt City Council.

[4] The remaining six councillors are elected at-large from the electors of Lower Hutt.

[4] The council has created three local community boards under the provisions of Part 4 of the Local Government Act 2002,[7] with members elected using a first-past-the-post (FPP) system[3] or appointed by the council.