Prestons is a suburb on the northeastern side of Christchurch city.
The suburb is named for Thomas Herbert Preston (1824–1884), a local resident and chair of the Avon Road Board. It was first planned as a residential suburb in 2007, and constructed in the 2010s.
The suburb has a main exit to Preston Road at the north, and a minor one to the east. An exit to the south to reduce congestion was delayed by disagreements over the intersection design. The new exit opened in 2024.
Demographics Prestons covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Prestons had a population of 4,863 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,815 people (59.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 4,620 people (1901.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,343 males, 2,508 females, and 9 people of other genders in 1,794 dwellings. 2.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 957 people (19.7%) aged under 15 years, 675 (13.9%) aged 15 to 29, 2,337 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 894 (18.4%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 84.1% European (Pākehā); 8.5% Māori; 2.4% Pasifika; 12.8% Asian; 1.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.2%, Māori by 1.5%, Samoan by 0.4%, and other languages by 13.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.7% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 22.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 34.2% Christian, 2.2% Hindu, 0.4% Islam, 0.2% Māori religious beliefs, 0.8% Buddhist, 0.2% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.2%, and 5.2% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,152 (29.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,103 (53.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 651 (16.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 729 people (18.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 2,115 (54.1%) full-time, 555 (14.2%) part-time, and 57 (1.5%) unemployed.
+Individual statistical areasName Area(km2) Population Density(per km2) Dwellings Median age Medianincome Prestons 1.45 2,322 1,601 825 41.0 years $54,500 Prestons Park 2.62 2,541 970 969 39.5 years $50,100 New Zealand 38.1 years $41,500
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