As the name suggests, the electorate covers the Christchurch Central City, plus several inner suburbs to the north and east of the central city. Christchurch Central was first contested at the 1946 election and was held from its creation to 2011 by the Labour Party. It has gradually become a more marginal electorate which culminated in National’s Nicky Wagner taking the seat in 2011 and holding it until Labour’s Duncan Webb managed to retake the electorate at the 2017 election. At the 2025 boundary review Christchurch Central lost an area in Linwood and Phillipstown to Christchurch East.