Paekākāriki, a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island of New Zealand, lies 22 km north of Porirua and 45 km northeast of Wellington. The town's name comes from the Māori language and can mean "parakeet perch".
Paekākāriki had a population of 1,665 at the time of the 2013 census, up 66 from the 2006 census.
Paekākāriki lies on a narrowing of the thin coastal plain between the Tasman Sea and the Akatarawa Ranges, and thus serves as an important transportation node. To the south, State Highway 1 climbs towards Porirua; to the north the plains extend inland from the Kapiti Coast; at Paekākāriki the highway and North Island Main Trunk railway run close together between the coast and hills.