Living in Masterton

Masterton, a city in New Zealand, had a population of 21,606 in March 2023. Masterton covers 22.45 km², with a population density of 1,056.1 people per km² in March 2023.

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

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 Masterton.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

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

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Masterton?

The unemployment rate is 3.8 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ⁶

Unemployment across cities in New ZealandUnemployment in Masterton is 3.8%. Of 73 cities with data, 34 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Unemployment rate	3.8 %country median 3.2%	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁶Official

Public employment service

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

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Nearest airport	MRO	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁴Official
Distance to nearest airport	3 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁴Official

Language courses and integration in Masterton

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

Verified locally

1verified local records

Masterton

View official record

Check courses in Masterton 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.

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Masterton?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 11.9 µg/m³ (2012) — 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: 11.85 µg/m³ · cdn.who.int¹

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

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	11.85 µg/m³	31 Dec 2012	cdn.who.int¹Official
Climate Monthly Extreme High C	Jan 30.91 · Feb 28.6 · Mar 27.26 · Apr 22.92 · May 19.58 · Jun 16.93 · Jul 15.76 · Aug 16.06 · Sep 18.26 · Oct 21.7 · Nov 24.19 · Dec 27.96 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official
Climate Monthly Extreme Low C	Jan 5.26 · Feb 5.51 · Mar 4.95 · Apr 2.58 · May 0.73 · Jun -0.1 · Jul -1.31 · Aug -0.82 · Sep 0.14 · Oct -0.48 · Nov 1.15 · Dec 4.48 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 16.68 · Feb 16.86 · Mar 15.19 · Apr 12.53 · May 10.44 · Jun 8.37 · Jul 7.39 · Aug 7.96 · Sep 9.27 · Oct 10.69 · Nov 12.49 · Dec 14.91 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center²Official

Cities of a similar size in New Zealand

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

All New Zealand cities

Cambridge21,366 residents Ashburton20,346 residents Levin19,533 residents Rangiora18,855 residents Queenstown25,050 residents Richmond18,447 residents

Population and city profile

How many people live in Masterton?

The published population was 21,606 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population⁸

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	22.45 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	14.6 %	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁶Official
Foreign residents	4,050 people	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁶Official
Population density	1,056 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.⁵Official
Population	21,606 people	7 Mar 2023	Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population⁸Official

International community in Masterton

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
United Kingdom and Ireland	963	4.5%
Asia	909	4.2%
Pacific Islands	366	1.7%
Middle East and Africa	360	1.7%
Australia	288	1.3%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)	186	0.9%
North America	111	0.5%
Other	18	0.1%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁷

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
New Zealand European	16,668	77.1%
Māori	5,415	25.1%
Other European	1,086	5.0%
Samoan	627	2.9%
Southeast Asian	477	2.2%
Indian	459	2.1%
Cook Islands Maori	294	1.4%
Other Ethnicity	258	1.2%
Chinese	210	1.0%
Other Asian	144	0.7%

Show 11 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Tongan	81	0.4%
Fijian	75	0.3%
European nfd	57	0.3%
Niuean	51	0.2%
Tokelauan	45	0.2%
African	45	0.2%
Other Pacific Peoples	42	0.2%
Asian nfd	42	0.2%
Middle Eastern	30	0.1%
Latin American	27	0.1%
Pacific Peoples nfd	3	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁷

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
European	17,499	81.0%
Māori	5,415	25.1%
Asian	1,320	6.1%
Pacific Peoples	1,137	5.3%
Other Ethnicity	258	1.2%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	102	0.5%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁷

Is Masterton 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 worker55%strong on work, weak on safety · range 45–65%

Skilled employee64%strong on work, weak on safety · range 54–74%

Student54%strong on legal route, weak on safety · range 42–66%

Family58%strong on family, weak on safety · range 46–70%

Retirement45%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 33–57%

Foreign residents4,050 people31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ

Population21,606 people7 Mar 2023Official source · Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population

Unemployment rate3.8 %31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ

PM2.5 — annual mean11.85 µg/m³31 Dec 2012Official source · cdn.who.int

City area22.45 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 share14.6 %31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ

Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-08-26

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Masterton 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 Masterton?

The published population was 21,606 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population.

Is the air quality good in Masterton?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 11.9 µg/m³ (2012) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: cdn.who.int.

What is the unemployment rate in Masterton?

The unemployment rate is 3.8 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ.

How many foreign residents live in Masterton?

4,050 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Stats NZ.

Is Masterton a good place to live?

Masterton 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 Masterton?

The official country of birth distribution records 288 people (1.3%) 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). Masterton, New Zealand: jobs, air quality [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/masterton/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_masterton-new-zealand-jobs-air-quality_0b65fed4c823,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Masterton, New Zealand: jobs, air quality},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/masterton/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Masterton, New Zealand: jobs, air quality](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/masterton/) — 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

cdn.who.int cdn.who.int · checked 2026-08-26
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
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
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

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.