Kensington is a suburb of Timaru, in the South Canterbury area and Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located south of the town centre.

Kensington covers 0.73 km (0.28 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,640 as of June 2024, with a population density of 2,247 people per km.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	1,443	—
2013	1,416	−0.27%
2018	1,464	+0.67%
Source:

Kensington had a population of 1,464 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 48 people (3.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 21 people (1.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 642 households, comprising 741 males and 726 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. The median age was 39.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 249 people (17.0%) aged under 15 years, 318 (21.7%) aged 15 to 29, 648 (44.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 252 (17.2%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 88.9% European/Pākehā, 11.5% Māori, 3.3% Pasifika, 4.7% Asian, and 1.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 11.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.3% had no religion, 33.8% were Christian, 1.2% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.6% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 102 (8.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 345 (28.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 102 people (8.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 618 (50.9%) people were employed full-time, 180 (14.8%) were part-time, and 33 (2.7%) were unemployed.