Living in Blenheim

In Blenheim, the median rent tenants pay is €1,282 a month (2026) and unemployment is 1.8% (2023).

Blenheim covers 27.46 km², with a population density of 1,096.5 people per km² in March 2023. The population of Blenheim, in New Zealand, was 28,788 in March 2023.

Last checked 2026-10-0713 sources

Population28,788people7 Mar 2023Official source · Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population

Median gross salary (region)2,924EUR/month30 Jun 2025Official source · Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter

Median rent1,282EUR/month31 Jul 2026Official source · Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority

Unemployment rate1.8%country median 3.3% — 45% belowOfficial source · tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz

Recorded crime3,427incidents per 100,00030 Jun 2026Official source · Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026

PM2.5, annual mean9.65µg/m³country median 9.3 — 4% aboveOfficial source · LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations

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

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 Blenheim.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	1,282 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority⁷Official

Is Blenheim 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 worker45%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 37–53%

Skilled employee71%strong on work, weak on education · range 62–80%

Student38%strong on legal route, weak on education · range 28–48%

Family61%strong on family, weak on education · range 52–70%

Retirement30%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 20–40%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Blenheim?

The unemployment rate is 1.8 % (2023 Census). Source: tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz¹²

Unemployment across cities in New ZealandUnemployment in Blenheim is 1.8%. Of 91 cities with data, 42 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

0–22–44–66–88–1014–16

Blenheim 1.8%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	2,924 EUR/month	30 Jun 2025	Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter¹¹Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	1.8 %country median 3.3%	31 Dec 2023	tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz¹²Official

What does a salary buy in Blenheim?

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

Left over each month€1,026of €2,381 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.	€2,381
Rentmedian rent of a whole dwelling · official · Rental bond data · 2026-07-31	− €1,282
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	€1,026

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

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Blenheim. 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 Blenheim. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Safety

How safe is Blenheim?

Police recorded about 3,427 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 2026¹³

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	3,427 incidents per 100,000	30 Jun 2026	Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026¹³Official

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Destinations from nearest airport	3 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights⁵Official
Nearest airport	BHE	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁶Official
Distance to nearest airport	7 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁶Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Blenheim. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

English Language Teaching — Intensive Literacy and Numeracy Fund — State Language Course

Tertiary Education Commission

For adult migrants, refugees, adult speakers of other languages.

EnglishIn Person, Online, HybridSubsidised

Open official information

New Zealand settlement services — Newcomer Adaptation

Immigration New Zealand

For migrants, refugees, newcomers.

In Person, Online, HybridFree

Open official information

Open the full New Zealand section

National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Blenheim.

Find courses near Blenheim

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Blenheim?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 9.6 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: 9.65 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

PM2.59.6WHO 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 Blenheim is 9.7 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

Blenheim 9.7

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	9.65 µg/m³country median 9.3	31 Dec 2024	LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations¹Official
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 31.75 · Feb 32.24 · Mar 27.97 · Apr 22.03 · May 19.91 · Jun 16.9 · Jul 13.97 · Aug 16.63 · Sep 18.59 · Oct 22.73 · Nov 25.24 · Dec 28.58 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan 5.54 · Feb 5.67 · Mar 3.85 · Apr 0.57 · May -0.78 · Jun -1.16 · Jul -2.55 · Aug -2.62 · Sep -0.58 · Oct -0.65 · Nov 0.68 · Dec 2.31 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 16.41 · Feb 16.31 · Mar 14.39 · Apr 11.43 · May 8.9 · Jun 6.53 · Jul 5.64 · Aug 6.66 · Sep 8.19 · Oct 9.85 · Nov 12.07 · Dec 14.47 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official

Population and city profile

How many people live in Blenheim?

The published population was 28,788 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹⁰

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport78.6%
Foreign residents21.4%

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	27.46 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 residents	6,168 people	31 Dec 2023	tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz¹²Official
Population density	1,096 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.⁸Official
Population	28,788 people	7 Mar 2023	Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹⁰Official

International community in Blenheim

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	1,563	5.5%
United Kingdom and Ireland	1,548	5.4%
Pacific Islands	744	2.6%
Middle East and Africa	576	2.0%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)	525	1.8%
Australia	519	1.8%
Other	462	1.6%
North America	231	0.8%

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	22,110	76.8%
Māori	4,329	15.0%
Other European	1,893	6.6%
Southeast Asian	843	2.9%
Indian	606	2.1%
Samoan	513	1.8%
Latin American	492	1.7%
Chinese	459	1.6%
Tongan	438	1.5%
Other Ethnicity	384	1.3%

Show 11 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Other Asian	186	0.6%
Other Pacific Peoples	165	0.6%
Fijian	162	0.6%
Cook Islands Maori	144	0.5%
European nfd	129	0.4%
African	78	0.3%
Asian nfd	72	0.3%
Niuean	45	0.2%
Middle Eastern	36	0.1%
Pacific Peoples nfd	24	0.1%
Tokelauan	12	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	23,739	82.5%
Māori	4,329	15.0%
Asian	2,142	7.4%
Pacific Peoples	1,407	4.9%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	600	2.1%
Other Ethnicity	384	1.3%

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

Alternatives for people set on Blenheim

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.

Whangārei as a Blenheim alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 646 km, better on 1 of 2 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Median gross pay, region cannot be compared like for like.

Residents: 53,841 Whangārei vs 28,788 Blenheim+87%
Median gross pay, region: €3,245 (2024) Whangārei vs €2,924 (2025) Blenheimno percentage
Nearest airport: 6.0 km Whangārei vs 7.0 km Blenheim−14%

Full comparison More about Whangārei

Alternative cities in New Zealand

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

All New Zealand cities

Paraparaumu28,938 residents Rolleston28,449 residents Timaru28,095 residents Pukekohe27,042 residents Taupō25,374 residents Queenstown25,050 residents

How does Blenheim compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Blenheim's.

Open the full comparison

Blenheim in rankings

#2 of 27 in Cities with lowest unemployment in New Zealand #9 of 12 in Cities with cleanest air in New Zealand #13 of 22 in Cheapest cities to rent in New Zealand #21 of 29 in Largest cities in New Zealand

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Blenheim 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 Blenheim?

The published population was 28,788 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population.

Is the air quality good in Blenheim?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 9.6 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 Blenheim?

What is the unemployment rate in Blenheim?

The unemployment rate is 1.8 % (2023 Census). Source: tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz.

What is the typical salary around Blenheim?

The median gross salary is 2,924 EUR/month. Source: Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter.

How many foreign residents live in Blenheim?

6,168 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz.

Is Blenheim a good place to live?

Blenheim 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 Blenheim?

The official country of birth distribution records 1,563 people (5.5%) 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). Blenheim, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 9b46c837d8edcbc21312ed79a599d6d4]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/blenheim/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_blenheim-new-zealand-population-rent-salary-jobs_c234fe056c15,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Blenheim, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {9b46c837d8edcbc21312ed79a599d6d4},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/blenheim/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Blenheim, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/blenheim/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 9b46c837d8edcbc21312ed79a599d6d4; 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
OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
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 / 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 3 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
tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-27
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.