Sefton is a small town in the Waimakariri District, New Zealand, about 23 kilometres (14 miles) from Christchurch.
In 1886, it had a census population of 276 and was a station on the Christchurch Ashley line. In 1891 it had a population of 390, of which 202 were male and 188 were female. In the 2018 census, the population was 207.
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Education
Sefton has one school: Te Waitai Sefton School. It is a state co-educational full primary, with 121 students (as of July 2026). The principal is Heidi Moeller-Kemp. It opened in 1884. Balcairn School (opened 1878) merged with Sefton in 1930, Salwater Creek School (opened 1865) merged in 1951, and Mt Grey Downs School (extant 1869) in 1963.
Demographics
Sefton is described by Stats NZ as a rural settlement and covers 0.87 km2 (0.34 sq mi). It had an estimated population of 270 as of June 2025, with a population density of 310 people per km2. Sefton is part of the larger Ashley-Sefton statistical area.
Sefton had a population of 255 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 48 people (23.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 30 people (13.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 144 males, 111 females, and 3 people of other genders in 99 dwellings. 5.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 54 people (21.2%) aged under 15 years, 42 (16.5%) aged 15 to 29, 111 (43.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 48 (18.8%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 94.1% European (Pākehā), 10.6% Māori, 2.4% Pasifika, and 4.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.8%, Māori by 1.2%, and other languages by 2.4%. No language could be spoken by 2.4% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 8.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 21.2% Christian, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 69.4%, and 9.4% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 30 (14.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 114 (56.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 57 (28.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $37,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 9 people (4.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 99 (49.3%) full-time, 39 (19.4%) part-time, and 6 (3.0%) unemployed.