Cambridge, New Zealand

Cambridge (Māori: Kemureti) is a town in the Waipā District of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated 24 kilometres (15 mi) southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions". The town has a population of 22,400, making it the largest town in the Waipā District, and the third largest urban area in the Waikato (after Hamilton and Taupō).

Cambridge was a finalist in the 2017 and 2019 New Zealand's Most Beautiful Large Town awards, run by Keep New Zealand Beautiful. It was awarded the title New Zealand's Most Beautiful Large Town in October 2019.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans there were a number of Maori pā in the vicinity of what would become Cambridge. In the 1850s missionaries and farmers from Britain settled in the area and introduced modern farming practices to local Maori, helping them set up two flour mills and importing grinding wheels from England and France. During the 1850s, wheat was a profitable crop but when merchants in Auckland began purchasing cheaper grain from Australia the market went into decline.^{[citation needed]}

The European town of Cambridge was established when the 3rd Regiment of the Waikato Militia were settled there in 1864 following the Invasion of the Waikato. The town was named after Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army at the time.

Electric street lights were first switched on in 1922.

Cambridge covers 27.35 km² (10.56 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 22,400 as of June 2024, with a population density of 819 people per km².

Cambridge had a population of 21,366 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,685 people (14.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 5,250 people (32.6%) since the 2013 census. There were 10,137 males, 11,157 females, and 72 people of other genders in 8,187 dwellings. 2.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 42.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 4,062 people (19.0%) aged under 15 years, 3,453 (16.2%) aged 15 to 29, 9,054 (42.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 4,797 (22.5%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 88.5% European (Pākehā); 10.9% Māori; 1.8% Pasifika; 7.3% Asian; 0.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.3%, Māori by 1.9%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 10.6%. No language could be spoken by 1.8% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 25.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.