The district stretches from the small town of Mangakino in the northwest to the Tongariro National Park in the south, and east into the Kaingaroa Forest.

The district's population is largely located in the two main centres, Taupō and Tūrangi.

Little is known about early Māori settlement near Taupō, although Ngāti Tūwharetoa have been the main iwi of the area for several hundred years.

Major pā were situated at the southern end of the lake, to the west of the modern town of Tūrangi.

It was not until the 1950s that the region started to develop, with forestry and the construction of the Wairakei geothermal power station.

The results were 74.9% European (Pākehā); 30.9% Māori; 3.7% Pasifika; 6.5% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".