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Living in Ashburton

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.

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.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent or cost figure is published for Ashburton yet. We do not infer one from another place.

Worked out from these numbers

How international is the population?

35.2% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 7,164 people of 20,346 people. This counts nationality, not place of birth, so long-settled residents who naturalised are not in it.

Work and income

Unemployment across cities in New ZealandUnemployment in Ashburton is 2.6%. Of 73 cities with data, 34 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.
unemployment rate, % · measured cities in New Zealand per band14 cities: 0% to under 2%140–234 cities: 2% to under 4%342–4Ashburton 2.6%16 cities: 4% to under 6%164–68 cities: 6% to under 8%86–81 city: 14% to under 16%114–16

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Unemployment rate2.6 %country median 3.2%31 Dec 2023Stats NZ5Official

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

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

Mobility and administration

MetricValuePeriodSource
Nearest airportASG3 Aug 2026OurAirports3Official
Distance to nearest airport5 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports3Official

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

Climate and air quality

MetricValuePeriodSource
Climate Monthly Extreme High CJan 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 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center1Official
Climate Monthly Extreme Low CJan 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 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center1Official
Average temperature by monthJan 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 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center1Official

Cities of a similar size in New Zealand

Closest published populations, for a like-for-like comparison.

All New Zealand cities

Population and city profile

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population
Ashburton residents by nationalityBy nationalityNational passport64.8%Foreign residents35.2%

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

MetricValuePeriodSource
City area39.99 km²1 Jan 2023Official 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.2Official
Foreign-resident share20.6 %31 Dec 2023Stats NZ5Official
Foreign residents7,164 people31 Dec 2023Stats NZ5Official
Population density545.6 people/km²7 Mar 2023Reproducible exact-UR2023 density using the existing official Stats NZ population denominator and the exact official UR2023 area. No observation geography is promoted.4Official
Population20,346 people7 Mar 2023Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population7Official

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 groupPeopleShare
Asia1,2606.2%
Pacific Islands9754.8%
United Kingdom and Ireland7053.5%
Middle East and Africa3992.0%
Australia2761.4%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)2071.0%
Other1050.5%
North America720.4%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source6

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published groupPeopleShare
New Zealand European15,52276.3%
Māori1,8519.1%
Other European9214.5%
Southeast Asian7983.9%
Samoan6933.4%
Cook Islands Maori6543.2%
Tongan3601.8%
Indian3601.8%
Other Asian2311.1%
Chinese2251.1%
Show 11 more groups
Published groupPeopleShare
Other Ethnicity1920.9%
Latin American1230.6%
Fijian1080.5%
Asian nfd690.3%
African600.3%
European nfd480.2%
Tokelauan420.2%
Middle Eastern360.2%
Other Pacific Peoples120.1%
Niuean90.0%
Pacific Peoples nfd60.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source6

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published groupPeopleShare
European16,31480.2%
Māori1,8519.1%
Pacific Peoples1,7918.8%
Asian1,6808.3%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African2221.1%
Other Ethnicity1920.9%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source6

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 worker59%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 48–70%
Skilled employee64%strong on work, weak on safety · range 54–74%
Student52%strong on legal route, weak on safety · range 40–64%
Family61%strong on family, weak on safety · range 49–73%
Retirement47%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 33–61%
Foreign residents7,164 people31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ
Population20,346 people7 Mar 2023Official source · Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population
Unemployment rate2.6 %31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ
City area39.99 km²1 Jan 2023Official source · 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.
Foreign-resident share20.6 %31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ
Population density545.6 people/km²7 Mar 2023Official source · Reproducible exact-UR2023 density using the existing official Stats NZ population denominator and the exact official UR2023 area. No observation geography is promoted.
Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-08-13

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.

What is the unemployment rate in Ashburton?

The unemployment rate is 2.6 %. Source: Stats NZ.

How many people live in Ashburton?

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

How many foreign residents live in Ashburton?

7,164 people 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 Australia live in Ashburton?

The official country of birth distribution records 276 people (1.4%) 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, September 12). Ashburton, New Zealand: jobs, climate [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/ashburton/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_ashburton-new-zealand-jobs-climate_8d9d2ea73892,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Ashburton, New Zealand: jobs, climate},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/ashburton/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Ashburton, New Zealand: jobs, climate](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/ashburton/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.

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
  1. NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
  2. 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
  3. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
  4. 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
  5. Stats NZ tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-03
  6. Stats NZ / Tatauranga Aotearoa tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-30
  7. 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

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.