Maraenui is a suburb of the city of Napier, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's eastern North Island. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "great marae" for Maraenui.

It is a lower socio-economic neighbourhood with a mix of owner occupied and state-owned Housing New Zealand properties, and has a high rate of synthetic drug use.

Demographics

Maraenui covers 1.05 km (0.41 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 3,950 as of June 2023, with a population density of 3,762 people per km.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	3,537	—
2013	3,093	−1.90%
2018	3,504	+2.53%
Source:

Maraenui had a population of 3,504 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 411 people (13.3%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 33 people (−0.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 984 households, comprising 1,731 males and 1,773 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female. The median age was 26.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 1,053 people (30.1%) aged under 15 years, 843 (24.1%) aged 15 to 29, 1,326 (37.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 282 (8.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 44.9% European/Pākehā, 58.8% Māori, 14.1% Pacific peoples, 2.7% Asian, and 1.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 12.1, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.3% had no religion, 31.2% were Christian, 11.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% were Hindu, 0.5% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 1.2% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 126 (5.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 711 (29.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $20,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 63 people (2.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,068 (43.6%) people were employed full-time, 357 (14.6%) were part-time, and 192 (7.8%) were unemployed.

Education

Maraenui Bilingual School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of 137 as of February 2024. The school provides education in both Māori language and English. The school opened in 1958, and became New Zealand's first bilingual school in 1988.

Richmond School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of 45 as of February 2024.