The Kaukapakapa River flows from the town to the Kaipara Harbour to the west.

[5] The town is commonly known to the locals in its shortened form "Kaukap";[6] it is sometimes abbreviated to KKK.

[8] European settlement of the area began in 1860, when the Government bought land from local Māori.

[9] A small number of settlers arrived from England and Scotland, and a Methodist church was built in 1872.

A monthly boat service operated between Kaukapakapa and the northern Kaipara from 1863.

The town developed split between the northern and southern banks of the river.

Although roads connected the town to Riverhead, Tauhoa and Helensville by the early 1880s, they were of poor quality, and most access was by the river.

[12] The kauri timber industry was responsible for developing the area, with logs floated down the Kaukapakapa River to the Kaipara Harbour, where they were loaded onto ships for export.

Kauri gum digging (beginning in 1873-74 and continuing until at least 1914)[13] and flax processing (in the 1880s)[14] were also significant early industries.

[16] A creamery was built next to the railway station to service the developing dairy industry.

The settlement was part of the larger Te Kuru statistical area in the 2018 census.

The results were 92.1% European (Pākehā); 8.8% Māori; 2.0% Pasifika; 5.1% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".

[24] Kaukapakapa Rural statistical area covers 90.83 km2 (35.07 sq mi)[26] to the west, north and east of the town.

The results were 93.9% European (Pākehā); 11.2% Māori; 3.6% Pasifika; 2.5% Asian; 1.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".

The township is in the North West Country Inc business improvement district zone.