While the figures weren't a surprise, a new trend that saw more Wanganui residents moving from the city to its rural fringes was interesting, she said.
"People are making lifestyle choices. Maybe some of our rural areas are doing better."
The Ruapehu District had the biggest population drop in New Zealand - 12.7 per cent. It lost 1728 people in the seven years between 2006 and 2013 and its current population is just 11,844 people.
Ruapehu District Council chief executive Peter Till was disturbed by the drop, but noted there had been an increase in ratepayers during the same period.
A council survey found the district had 1122 holiday homes in 2010, and that number was growing. Subdivisions, building consents and house sales were all steady.
"We are changing shape as a district - we're becoming a holiday place rather than a district of permanent residents," Mr Till said.
The Rangitikei District also bled permanent residents - in 2006 it had 14,714 people; in 2013 the population was 14,019, a loss of 695 or 4.7 per cent.
Rangitikei chief executive Ross McNeil said there was a nationwide movement from the country to the city. Farms were getting bigger and people, the young especially, moved to the cities for jobs.
"Getting and keeping jobs in local communities is vitally important to maintain populations in rural and provincial New Zealand."
Rural areas were still the backbone of the economy, he said, but there was no lack of affordable housing there. Added to Wanganui's small population drop, the Ruapehu and Rangitikei numbers drag the Manawatu-Wanganui population increase down to less than 1 per cent. Palmerston North City grew by 3 per cent, and the Manawatu District by 5.3 per cent.
Taranaki grew by 5.3 per cent overall, and New Plymouth District grew by 7.7 per cent. The South Taranaki District gained 93 people and grew 0.4 per cent.
"It's great to see that South Taranaki has turned the population trend around and is now seeing modest growth and especially pleasing to see nearly 500 more residents in the Hawera and surrounding areas," mayor Ross Dunlop said.
The council added a lot of facilities and infrastructure to South Taranaki communities in the past six years, he said.
The data showed New Zealand's population was 4,242,048 in 2013, up from 4,027,947 in 2006 - a 5.3 per cent increase.
Auckland is still the fastest-growing region, with a population that has grown by 110,000 people to 1.42 million since the last census seven years ago.
After Auckland, the fastest-growing region was Nelson, followed by Waikato. Overall, 47 out of 67 council areas grew in population - the fastest growing being Selwyn, Queenstown-Lakes District and Waimakariri.
