[3] With an estimated population of 19,400 (as of June 2024),[2] Rangiora is the 30th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the fifth-largest in the Canterbury region (behind Christchurch, Timaru, Ashburton and Rolleston).

For more than twenty years the Rangiora Showgrounds has hosted an annual "petrol-head" show called Street Machines and Muscle Car Madness which features a large array of vehicles.

Rangiora High School has produced many excellent sportspeople in rugby, basketball, netball, athletics, and rowing in recent years.

Compass FM 104.9 is a not-for-profit community station covering the North Canterbury region of New Zealand.

Construction began in 1925, and the Hall was opened on 27 May 1926 by the Mayoress of the Rangiora Borough, Mrs Robina McIntosh.

Seating 600, the main hall was designed to host both moving pictures, and also live performances from around the district.

The original Rangiora Public Library was located on the first-floor along the northern (High Street) frontage.

In the early 1970s, the building was altered by pushing the rear wall of the auditorium in, which resulted in the loss of 200 seats and reducing the current capacity to the present level of 380.

This carpark also has a loading dock that leads directly into the stage right wing, allowing backdrops and other properties to be brought into the building.

The last group to use the Town Hall was the Rangiora New Life School, whose Secondary students had performed Exodus - The Musical (written by Christopher Tambling and Michael Forster) over the week of 25–27 August.

The first show to use the restored facility was the North Canterbury Musical Society with their performance of Guys and Dolls in June 2011.

While the Hall appeared to be in good condition, it was later found by engineers to be below the 33% structural integrity requirements of the New Building Standards code introduced after the Canterbury earthquakes.

In December 2011, Council engineers closed the Hall, necessitating the closure of the Regent Theatre, located in the former library.

After Walsh stripped out his cinema, contractors Naylor Love began work on 16 September 2013 to demolish internal walls as part of a new Performing Arts centre, due to cost $10.9m NZD.

The refurbished Town Hall was officially opened on 7 March 2015[25] by Waimakariri District mayor David Ayers, with the Rangiora Brass Band providing a short concert afterwards.

The lessor of a restaurant operating from the Junction Hotel has indicated an interest in purchasing the two properties and demolishing them to build a more modern structure.

The fate of the Junction Hotel is yet undecided, necessitating the fence containing the structure to be left in place for the time being.

This museum constitutes the upper floor of the former BNZ bank building that was located on Rangiora's High Street and shifted on to the current site in 1967.

Later an extension consisting of a large display area and a collections archives room was added to the building.

The society hosts monthly meetings at the Rangiora Museum, where there are talks by members and visiting speakers on various topics of local historical and community interest.

In February 2013, the museum took delivery of the former 'Canterbury Draught' sign that had been located on top of the DB Breweries building in Christchurch.

Although not listed as open to the public, the museum contains (or contained) a collection of industrial displays, working models and steam machinery including several traction engines, which have been restored at the museum and made regular gala appearances in the past.

[34] In 1875, a collision occurred between two trains at the Rangiora Station; although there were no fatalities, both engines were damaged as was some of the rolling stock involved.

In 2002, the Waimakariri District Council re-erected station nameboards along the line as memorials to the railway, including one at Bells, on the intersection of High Street and the Rangiora-Oxford Road.

It was also noted in 2006 that the former Bennetts railway station had been acquired from its use as the Cust cricket pavilion for restoration at Oxford.

[36] Suburban trains ran between Christchurch and Rangiora between 1878 and 30 April 1976, when declining patronage caused New Zealand Railways to discontinue the service.

This has recently been cut back to three trains each way per week in the off-peak season, following a similar format applied to the Overlander between Auckland and Wellington in 2006.

They are: Population growth in the Rangiora area since the mid-2000s, especially following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, saw the town's primary schools start to approach capacity.