Living in Hamilton

In Hamilton, the median rent tenants pay is €1,214 a month (2026) and unemployment is 5.6% (2023).

Hamilton's population was 174,741 in March 2023. Hamilton covers 110.4 km², with a population density of 1,631 people per km² in March 2023.

Last checked 2026-10-0216 sources

Population174,741people7 Mar 2023Official source · Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population

Median gross salary (region)3,417EUR/month31 Dec 2024Official source · Linked Employer-Employee Dataset: LEED measures by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, December 2024 quarter

Median rent1,214EUR/month31 Jul 2026Official source · Tenancy Services (MBIE) — Detailed monthly rental bond data by territorial authority (median weekly rent)

Unemployment rate5.6%country median 3.3% — 70% aboveOfficial source · Stats NZ

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

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 Hamilton.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

What recurs every month4 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Utilities, 85 m² flat€51

Internet, 60 Mbps€48

Transport pass€36

Mobile plan, 10 GB€33

Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	48.33 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/nz/hamilton/¹⁶Community estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB	32.64 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/nz/hamilton/¹⁶Community estimate · Supplemental context
Monthly transport pass	36.14 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/nz/hamilton/¹⁶Community estimate · Supplemental context
Basic utilities, 85 m² home	51.22 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/nz/hamilton/¹⁶Community estimate · Supplemental context
Median monthly rent	1,214 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Tenancy Services (MBIE) — Detailed monthly rental bond data by territorial authority (median weekly rent)¹⁴Official

Is Hamilton 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 worker35%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 26–44%

Skilled employee58%strong on work, weak on safety · range 49–67%

Student39%strong on cost, weak on safety · range 29–49%

Family52%strong on family, weak on safety · range 42–62%

Retirement32%strong on cost, weak on admin · range 20–44%

Worked out from these numbers

How international is the population?

30.1% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 52,626 of 174,741 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 Hamilton is 5.6%. Of 91 cities with data, 42 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

0–22–44–66–88–1014–16

Hamilton 5.6%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	3,417 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Linked Employer-Employee Dataset: LEED measures by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, December 2024 quarter⁴Official · regional context
Average net monthly salary	2,371 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/nz/hamilton/¹⁶Community estimate · Supplemental context
Unemployment rate	5.6 %country median 3.3%	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ¹¹Official

What does a salary buy in Hamilton?

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

Left over each month€1,339of €2,721 take-home

Rent
Utilities
Transport
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.	€2,721
Rentmedian rent of a whole dwelling · official · Tenancy Services (MBIE) · 2026-07-31	− €1,214
Public transport pass€36 · market price · Numbeo city cost-of-living page · 2026-08-31	− €36
Utilities, 85 m²€51 · market price · Numbeo city cost-of-living page · 2026-08-31	− €51
Internet€48 · market price · Numbeo city cost-of-living page · 2026-08-31	− €48
Mobile plan€33 · market price · Numbeo city cost-of-living page · 2026-08-31	− €33
Left over	€1,339

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

Public employment service

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

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
GP practices	31 count	16 Sept 2026	Healthpoint General Practice (GP) directory³Official
Hospital beds per 100,000 residents	546 beds per 100,000	16 Sept 2026	Certified Public hospital providers CSV¹Official
Hospitals	7 count	16 Sept 2026	Certified Public hospital providers CSV¹Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Hamilton 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

Hospital beds per 100,000 residents546 beds per 100,000Verified 2026-09-16

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Destinations from nearest airport	4 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights⁷Official
Nearest airport	HLZ	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁸Official
Distance to nearest airport	10 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁸Official

Language courses and integration in Hamilton

4 exact course-location records are linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.

Verified locally

4verified local records

English Language Partners New Zealand

Settlement Centre Waikato, Boundary Road, Hamilton

View official record

Waikato Institute of Education

Level 5, 218 Anglesea Street, Hamilton Central, Hamilton 3204

View official record

Te Pūkenga – Wintec Centre for Languages

City Campus, Tristram Street, Hamilton

View official record

Check courses in Hamilton How the country programme works

Exact city-linked records checked 2026-08-10. Showing 3 representative locations from 4 verified records. Provider-supplied records are supplemental and are not presented as official accreditation.

Find courses near Hamilton

Climate and air quality

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 29.49 · Feb 28.26 · Mar 27.2 · Apr 24.2 · May 21.47 · Jun 18.48 · Jul 17.3 · Aug 17.95 · Sep 20.1 · Oct 21.71 · Nov 25.94 · Dec 27.17 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁵Official
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan 8.17 · Feb 9.12 · Mar 6.56 · Apr 5.17 · May 2.16 · Jun 1.51 · Jul 1.08 · Aug 1.27 · Sep 1.36 · Oct 3.05 · Nov 5.18 · Dec 5.88 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁵Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 18.71 · Feb 19.17 · Mar 17.79 · Apr 15.44 · May 13.09 · Jun 10.97 · Jul 9.82 · Aug 10.43 · Sep 11.77 · Oct 13.13 · Nov 14.94 · Dec 17.16 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center⁵Official

Population and city profile

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport69.9%
Foreign residents30.1%

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	110.4 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.⁶Official
Foreign-resident share	30.1 %	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ¹¹Official
Foreign residents	52,626 people	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ¹¹Official
Population density	1,631 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.¹⁰Official
Population	174,741 people	7 Mar 2023	Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹³Official

International community in Hamilton

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	26,958	15.6%
Middle East and Africa	7,392	4.3%
United Kingdom and Ireland	5,790	3.3%
Pacific Islands	5,601	3.2%
Australia	2,622	1.5%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)	1,908	1.1%
Other	1,266	0.7%
North America	1,089	0.6%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹²

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
European	102,180	58.5%
Māori	44,445	25.4%
Asian	39,798	22.8%
Pacific Peoples	11,862	6.8%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	4,674	2.7%
Other Ethnicity	1,776	1.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹²

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
New Zealand European	93,477	53.5%
Māori	44,445	25.4%
Indian	17,283	9.9%
Other European	10,767	6.2%
Chinese	9,771	5.6%
Southeast Asian	7,533	4.3%
Other Asian	4,989	2.9%
Samoan	4,170	2.4%
Cook Islands Maori	2,811	1.6%
Tongan	2,724	1.6%

Show 11 more groups

Published group	People	Share
African	1,932	1.1%
Other Ethnicity	1,776	1.0%
Latin American	1,434	0.8%
Middle Eastern	1,323	0.8%
Other Pacific Peoples	1,092	0.6%
Fijian	1,053	0.6%
Niuean	924	0.5%
Asian nfd	573	0.3%
European nfd	528	0.3%
Tokelauan	150	0.1%
Pacific Peoples nfd	96	0.1%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹²

Alternatives for people set on Hamilton

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.

Palmerston North as a Hamilton alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 290 km, better on 2 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 2.

Unemployment: 4.5% Palmerston North vs 5.6% Hamilton−20%
Nearest airport: 4.0 km Palmerston North vs 10.0 km Hamilton−60%
Residents: 78,021 Palmerston North vs 174,741 Hamilton−55%
Foreign residents: 21.8% Palmerston North vs 30.1% Hamilton−28%
Median gross pay, region: €3,276 Palmerston North vs €3,417 Hamilton−4%

Full comparison More about Palmerston North

Cities near Hamilton

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Claudelands 1.8 km away

Rent: 1,228 EUR/monthMedian monthly rent · 2026-07-31

Alternative cities in New Zealand

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

All New Zealand cities

Tauranga161,000 residents Wellington202,689 residents Dunedin132,800 residents Lower Hutt114,200 residents New Plymouth90,100 residents Christchurch380,079 residents

How does Hamilton compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Hamilton in rankings

#3 of 23 in Most international cities in New Zealand #4 of 29 in Largest cities in New Zealand #9 of 22 in Cheapest cities to rent in New Zealand #24 of 27 in Cities with lowest unemployment in New Zealand

Common questions

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

What is the typical salary around Hamilton?

The median gross salary is 3,417 EUR/month. Source: Linked Employer-Employee Dataset: LEED measures by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, December 2024 quarter.

What is the unemployment rate in Hamilton?

The unemployment rate is 5.6 %. Source: Stats NZ.

How many people live in Hamilton?

The published population is 174,741 people. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population.

How many foreign residents live in Hamilton?

52,626 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Stats NZ.

How much is public transport in Hamilton?

A monthly transport pass is 36.14 EUR/month. This is a supplemental estimate, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/nz/hamilton/.

Is Hamilton a good place to live?

Hamilton 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.

Which cities are near Hamilton?

Claudelands, Ngāruawāhia, Cambridge are near Hamilton. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people born in Asia live in Hamilton?

The official country of birth distribution records 26,958 people (15.6%) 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). Hamilton, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version cd600e9b276aeb394b7f52ecec9f3298]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/hamilton/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_hamilton-new-zealand-population-rent-salary-jobs_8f4c2ced8e95,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Hamilton, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {cd600e9b276aeb394b7f52ecec9f3298},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/hamilton/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Hamilton, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/hamilton/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version cd600e9b276aeb394b7f52ecec9f3298; 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

Certified Public hospital providers CSV health.govt.nz · checked 2026-09-15
Coordinate identity evidence services2.arcgis.com · checked 2026-09-06
Healthpoint General Practice (GP) directory healthpoint.co.nz · checked 2026-09-15
Linked Employer-Employee Dataset: LEED measures by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, December 2024 quarter figure.nz · checked 2026-09-28
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
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

Show 6 more sources

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
Tenancy Services (MBIE) — Detailed monthly rental bond data by territorial authority (median weekly rent) Tenancy Services (MBIE) · tenancy.govt.nz · checked 2026-09-18
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Numbeo city cost-of-living page — /cities/nz/hamilton/ Numbeo city cost-of-living page · de.numbeo.com · checked 2026-09-05

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.