Living in Nelson
Nelson is one of the cities recorded in New Zealand. Residents of Nelson numbered 54,300 at the end of 2025. The unemployment rate was 3.4% at the end of 2023. Nelson was home to 13,860 foreign residents at the end of 2023.
Which New Zealand-wide rules apply when you move to Nelson?
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 Nelson yet. We do not infer one from another place.
Worked out from these numbers
How international is the population?
25.5% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 13,860 people of 54,300 people. This counts nationality, not place of birth, so long-settled residents who naturalised are not in it.
Work and income
Unemployment rate (%)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 3.4 %country median 3.2% | 31 Dec 2023 | Stats NZ4Official |
Public employment service
No exact public employment office is currently linked to Nelson. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.
Work and Income employment service — Public employment service
Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Nelson. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Mobility and administration
Nelson's nearest airport was NSN, 6 km away and offered 4 direct destinations.
Language courses and integration in Nelson
1 exact course-location record is linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.
Nelson
View official recordClimate and air quality
Nelson's monthly mean temperatures were 15.8°C in January and 4.6°C in July.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Monthly Extreme High C | Jan 32.11 · Feb 33.71 · Mar 27.99 · Apr 21.85 · May 20.05 · Jun 15.67 · Jul 12.83 · Aug 15.67 · Sep 17.69 · Oct 21.15 · Nov 25.07 · Dec 27.67 °C | 31 Dec 2001 | NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center1Official · coordinate grid |
| Climate Monthly Extreme Low C | Jan 3.58 · Feb 4.53 · Mar 2.78 · Apr 0.07 · May -2.2 · Jun -4.95 · Jul -4.73 · Aug -4.48 · Sep -2.46 · Oct -2.75 · Nov -0.64 · Dec 0.36 °C | 31 Dec 2001 | NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center1Official · coordinate grid |
| Average temperature by month | Jan 15.8 · Feb 15.95 · Mar 13.91 · Apr 10.72 · May 8.04 · Jun 5.62 · Jul 4.6 · Aug 5.66 · Sep 7.3 · Oct 9.05 · Nov 11.36 · Dec 13.88 °C | 31 Dec 2001 | NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center1Official · coordinate grid |
Cities of a similar size in New Zealand
Closest published populations, for a like-for-like comparison.
Population and city profile
Nelson covered an area of 422.2 km² at the end of 2023. At the end of 2024, the population density reached 129.1 people per km².
Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| City area | 422.2 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | Stats NZ5Official |
| Foreign-resident share | 26.4 % | 31 Dec 2023 | Stats NZ4Official |
| Foreign residents | 13,860 people | 31 Dec 2023 | Stats NZ4Official |
| Population density | 129.1 people/km² | 31 Dec 2024 | Stats NZ4Official |
| Population | 54,300 people | 31 Dec 2025 | Stats NZ4Official |
Population rose 31.8% between 1996 and 2025, from 41,200 to 54,300.
International community in Nelson
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 | 4,149 | 8.5% |
| Asia | 3,381 | 6.9% |
| Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland) | 1,503 | 3.1% |
| Australia | 1,089 | 2.2% |
| Middle East and Africa | 990 | 2.0% |
| North America | 891 | 1.8% |
| Pacific Islands | 612 | 1.3% |
| Other | 435 | 0.9% |
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 group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand European | 37,848 | 76.9% |
| Māori | 5,985 | 12.2% |
| Other European | 4,179 | 8.5% |
| Southeast Asian | 1,887 | 3.8% |
| Indian | 1,026 | 2.1% |
| Other Asian | 927 | 1.9% |
| Other Ethnicity | 663 | 1.3% |
| Samoan | 618 | 1.3% |
| Chinese | 495 | 1.0% |
| Latin American | 489 | 1.0% |
Show 11 more groups
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tongan | 348 | 0.7% |
| European nfd | 255 | 0.5% |
| Cook Islands Maori | 231 | 0.5% |
| Fijian | 171 | 0.3% |
| Asian nfd | 150 | 0.3% |
| Middle Eastern | 129 | 0.3% |
| African | 99 | 0.2% |
| Niuean | 93 | 0.2% |
| Other Pacific Peoples | 84 | 0.2% |
| Tokelauan | 18 | 0.0% |
| Pacific Peoples nfd | 12 | 0.0% |
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 group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| European | 41,385 | 84.1% |
| Māori | 5,985 | 12.2% |
| Asian | 4,443 | 9.0% |
| Pacific Peoples | 1,440 | 2.9% |
| Middle Eastern/Latin American/African | 696 | 1.4% |
| Other Ethnicity | 663 | 1.3% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source6
Is Nelson 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.
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Nelson 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 guideCommon questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Nelson?
The unemployment rate is 3.4 %. Source: Stats NZ.
How many people live in Nelson?
The published population is 54,300 people. Source: Stats NZ.
How many foreign residents live in Nelson?
13,860 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Stats NZ.
Is Nelson a good place to live?
Nelson 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 Nelson?
The official country of birth distribution records 1,089 people (2.2%) 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, September 12). Nelson, New Zealand: jobs, climate [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/nelson/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_nelson-new-zealand-jobs-climate_c94601671f0a,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Nelson, 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/nelson/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Nelson, New Zealand: jobs, climate](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/nelson/) — 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
- NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
- OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
- OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
- Stats NZ tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-03
- Stats NZ services2.arcgis.com · checked 2026-08-03
- Stats NZ / Tatauranga Aotearoa tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz · checked 2026-08-30
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.