The district is centred to the north and west of the city of Hamilton, and takes in much of the northern Waikato Plains and also the Hakarimata Range.

Other than Ngāruawāhia, the main population centres are Huntly, Raglan, and Te Kauwhata.

The main industries in the district are dairy farming, forestry, and coal mining.

The results were 73.6% European (Pākehā); 26.9% Māori; 5.5% Pasifika; 9.1% Asian; 1.1% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".

Land within the boundaries of highway districts became subject to a rate of not more than 1/- an acre, or of 3d in the £ of its estimated sale value, and that was to be equalled by a grant from the Province.

[16] By a notice in the Provincial Government Gazette on 25 August 1866, the deputy Superintendent, Daniel Pollen, declared Whaingaroa Highway District, the first in the future Raglan County.

[16] Raglan County was divided into five ridings (based on the distance a horse could travel in a day): Karioi, Pirongia, with 2 councillors each, and Te Akau, Onewhero and Whangape, with one.

Many of the areas had not had Highway Boards and were sparsely populated (874 people in 175 houses across the whole county), so voters had problems getting together to nominate councillors.

[16] As the population grew, the original 5 ridings were split - Karamu from Pirongia (28 November 1889), Whaingaroa from Karioi 1902, Pukekawa from Onewhero and Port Waikato from Te Akau 1911, Pukemiro from Whangape 1913 and Waingaro from Te Akau 1920.

Until 1943, each riding paid for its own roads and bridges, supplemented by council funds.

[16] The northern portion of Raglan County was added to Franklin District in 1989 when the rest joined WDC.

[23] and build larger offices on the Raglan side of the Waipā Bridge.

[24] On 27 May 1961, a new £40,000, 16-room, brick building, on the Great South Road, was officially opened by the Minister of Works, Stanley Goosman.

[24] Waikato District has 5 community boards covering Huntly, Ngāruawāhia and Raglan (formed 1989), Taupiri (added 1992) and Onewhero-Tuakau (added in 2010 covering part of the former Franklin District).

[25] The District also has 5 Community Committees for the townships of Meremere, Te Kauwhata (they had Community Boards from 1992 to 1995), and Tamahere ward, along with the North East Waikato Committee, covering Mangatawhiri, Mangatangi and Maramarua.