It includes the city of Whanganui and surrounding areas.

All but some 6,100 people in the Whanganui District live in the city itself, meaning there are few prominent outlying settlements.

The results were 78.3% European (Pākehā); 28.5% Māori; 4.1% Pasifika; 5.1% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".

The percentage of people born overseas was 13.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Of those at least 15 years old, 4,854 (12.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 21,795 (56.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 10,284 (26.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications.