Living in Ashburton

In Ashburton, the median rent tenants pay is €1,092 a month (2026) and unemployment is 2.6% (2023).

Ashburton is a city in New Zealand, with a population of 20,346 in March 2023. Ashburton covers 39.99 km², with a population density of 545.6 people per km² in March 2023.

Last checked 2026-10-0712 sources

Population20,346people7 Mar 2023Official source · Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population

Median gross salary (region)3,060EUR/month30 Jun 2025Official source · Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter

Median rent1,092EUR/month31 Jul 2026Official source · Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority

Unemployment rate2.6%country median 3.3% — 21% belowOfficial source · Stats NZ

Recorded crime2,594incidents per 100,00030 Jun 2026Official source · Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026

PM2.5, annual mean8.21µg/m³country median 9.3 — 11% belowOfficial source · LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations

Lower unemployment than 65% of New Zealand cities that publish it and cleaner air than 80% of New Zealand cities that publish it.

Which New Zealand-wide rules apply when you move to Ashburton?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in New ZealandNational rates and thresholds that apply in Ashburton.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Mobile plan, 10 GB€37

Internet, 60 Mbps€36

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	35.54 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	One NZ fixed broadband⁴Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	37.06 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	One NZ Endless Plus⁴Official · national market
Median monthly rent	1,092 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority⁶Official

Is Ashburton a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker66%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 58–74%

Skilled employee72%strong on work, weak on education · range 63–81%

Student42%strong on legal route, weak on education · range 32–52%

Family66%strong on family, weak on education · range 57–75%

Retirement37%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 27–47%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Ashburton?

The unemployment rate is 2.6 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ⁸

Unemployment across cities in New ZealandUnemployment in Ashburton is 2.6%. Of 91 cities with data, 42 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

0–22–44–66–88–1014–16

Ashburton 2.6%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	3,060 EUR/month	30 Jun 2025	Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter¹¹Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	2.6 %country median 3.3%	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁸Official

What does a salary buy in Ashburton?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€1,308of €2,472 take-home

Rent
Internet
Mobile
Left over

Line-by-line breakdown and sources

Each month	€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.	€2,472
Rentmedian rent of a whole dwelling · official · Rental bond data · 2026-07-31	− €1,092
Internet€36 · official · One NZ fixed broadband · 2026-09-30	− €36
Mobile plan€37 · official · One NZ Endless Plus · 2026-09-30	− €37
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities	—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish	€1,308

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Ashburton Salary needed to live in Ashburton

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Ashburton. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Work and Income employment service — Public employment service

Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand

Job Search

Open official service

Open the New Zealand service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Ashburton. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Safety

How safe is Ashburton?

Police recorded about 2,594 incidents per 100,000 (2025-07/2026-06). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026¹²

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	2,594 incidents per 100,000	30 Jun 2026	Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026¹²Official

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Nearest airport	ASG	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁵Official
Distance to nearest airport	5 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁵Official

Language courses and integration in Ashburton

1 exact course-location record is linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.

Verified locally

1verified local records

Ashburton

View official record

Check courses in Ashburton How the country programme works

Exact city-linked record checked 2026-08-10. Provider-supplied records are supplemental and are not presented as official accreditation.

Find courses near Ashburton

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Ashburton?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 8.2 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

PM2.5 — annual mean: 8.21 µg/m³ · LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations¹

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.58.2WHO 5 · EU 25

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in New ZealandAnnual PM2.5 in Ashburton is 8.2 µg/m³. Of 15 cities with data, 3 have annual PM2.5 of 8 to under 9 µg/m³.

5–67–88–99–1010–1111–1215–16

Ashburton 8.2

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	8.21 µg/m³country median 9.3	31 Dec 2024	LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations¹Official
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 31.34 · Feb 33.43 · Mar 28.63 · Apr 23.51 · May 21.52 · Jun 17.4 · Jul 16.87 · Aug 17.49 · Sep 21.02 · Oct 24.42 · Nov 27.63 · Dec 29.29 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan 8.11 · Feb 8.57 · Mar 6.85 · Apr 5.21 · May 2.69 · Jun 0.51 · Jul -0.21 · Aug 0.9 · Sep 2.14 · Oct 3.21 · Nov 4.24 · Dec 5.64 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 16.85 · Feb 16.7 · Mar 15.2 · Apr 12.6 · May 10.18 · Jun 7.79 · Jul 7 · Aug 7.79 · Sep 9.46 · Oct 11.09 · Nov 13.3 · Dec 15.52 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official

Population and city profile

How many people live in Ashburton?

The published population was 20,346 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹⁰

Foreign residents and their share come from different publications that count different groups (for example citizens of another country, or people born abroad, or of foreign origin), so 7,164 is not 20.6% of the population. Each row names its source.

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport64.8%
Foreign residents35.2%

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	39.99 km²	1 Jan 2023	Official Stats NZ Urban-rural 2023 area for the exact UR2023 urban-area code. AREA_SQ_KM is the clipped official geography used here; no territorial-authority or SA observation is substituted.³Official
Foreign-resident share	20.6 %	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁸Official
Foreign residents	7,164 people	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁸Official
Population density	545.6 people/km²	7 Mar 2023	Reproducible exact-UR2023 density using the existing official Stats NZ population denominator and the exact official UR2023 area. No observation geography is promoted.⁷Official
Population	20,346 people	7 Mar 2023	Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹⁰Official

International community in Ashburton

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Census usually resident population count for the 2023 Census place-summary geography · 2023 Census

Published group	People	Share
Asia	1,260	6.2%
Pacific Islands	975	4.8%
United Kingdom and Ireland	705	3.5%
Middle East and Africa	399	2.0%
Australia	276	1.4%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)	207	1.0%
Other	105	0.5%
North America	72	0.4%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁹

Ancestry or ethnicity

Census usually resident population count for the 2023 Census place-summary geography · 2023 Census

Published group	People	Share
New Zealand European	15,522	76.3%
Māori	1,851	9.1%
Other European	921	4.5%
Southeast Asian	798	3.9%
Samoan	693	3.4%
Cook Islands Maori	654	3.2%
Tongan	360	1.8%
Indian	360	1.8%
Other Asian	231	1.1%
Chinese	225	1.1%

Show 11 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Other Ethnicity	192	0.9%
Latin American	123	0.6%
Fijian	108	0.5%
Asian nfd	69	0.3%
African	60	0.3%
European nfd	48	0.2%
Tokelauan	42	0.2%
Middle Eastern	36	0.2%
Other Pacific Peoples	12	0.1%
Niuean	9	0.0%
Pacific Peoples nfd	6	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁹

Ancestry or ethnicity

Census usually resident population count for the 2023 Census place-summary geography · 2023 Census

Published group	People	Share
European	16,314	80.2%
Māori	1,851	9.1%
Pacific Peoples	1,791	8.8%
Asian	1,680	8.3%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	222	1.1%
Other Ethnicity	192	0.9%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁹

Alternatives for people set on Ashburton

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Wellington as an Ashburton alternative in the same country

Better on 1 of 2 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Median gross pay, region cannot be compared like for like.

Foreign residents: 34.4% Wellington vs 20.6% Ashburton+67%
Median gross pay, region: €3,848 (2024) Wellington vs €3,060 (2025) Ashburtonno percentage
Nearest airport: 5.0 km Wellington vs 5.0 km Ashburtonsame level

Full comparison More about Wellington

Alternative cities in New Zealand

Other cities in New Zealand to compare with Ashburton, nearest in population first.

All New Zealand cities

Levin19,533 residents Cambridge21,366 residents Masterton21,606 residents Rangiora18,855 residents Richmond18,447 residents Feilding16,929 residents

How does Ashburton compare?

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Ashburton in rankings

#1 of 22 in Cheapest cities to rent in New Zealand #5 of 12 in Cities with cleanest air in New Zealand #6 of 27 in Cities with lowest unemployment in New Zealand #12 of 23 in Most international cities in New Zealand #29 of 29 in Largest cities in New Zealand

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Ashburton when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Ashburton?

The published population was 20,346 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population.

Is the air quality good in Ashburton?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 8.2 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations.

How safe is Ashburton?

What is the unemployment rate in Ashburton?

The unemployment rate is 2.6 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ.

What is the typical salary around Ashburton?

The median gross salary is 3,060 EUR/month. Source: Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter.

How many foreign residents live in Ashburton?

7,164 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Stats NZ.

Is Ashburton a good place to live?

Ashburton may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

How many people born in Asia live in Ashburton?

The official country of birth distribution records 1,260 people (6.2%) in the source-defined population for 2023 Census. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Ashburton, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 85070725df186ee42cb3e6dc49773af0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/ashburton/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_ashburton-new-zealand-population-rent-salary-jobs_7f01c185f518,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Ashburton, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {85070725df186ee42cb3e6dc49773af0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/ashburton/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Ashburton, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/ashburton/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 85070725df186ee42cb3e6dc49773af0; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations lawa.org.nz · checked 2026-10-06
NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
Official Stats NZ Urban-rural 2023 area for the exact UR2023 urban-area code. AREA_SQ_KM is the clipped official geography used here; no territorial-authority or SA observation is substituted. services2.arcgis.com · checked 2023-01-01
One NZ fixed broadband one.nz · checked 2026-09-15
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority Rental bond data · tenancy.govt.nz · checked 2026-10-06
Reproducible exact-UR2023 density using the existing official Stats NZ population denominator and the exact official UR2023 area. No observation geography is promoted. services2.arcgis.com · checked 2023-03-07
Stats NZ tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-03
Stats NZ / Tatauranga Aotearoa tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-30
Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries · tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-13

Show 2 more sources

Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter api.data.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-10-07
Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026 Victimisations Time and Place · public.tableau.com · checked 2026-10-05

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.