Living in New Plymouth

New Plymouth is a city in New Zealand. At the end of 2025, New Plymouth had a population of 90,100. New Plymouth had an unemployment rate of 3.7% at the end of 2023. New Plymouth had a foreign population of 14,799 at the end of 2023.

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

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 New Plymouth.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

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

Worked out from these numbers

How international is the population?

16.4% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 14,799 people of 90,100 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 New Plymouth is 3.7%. Of 73 cities with data, 34 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Unemployment rate	3.7 %country median 3.2%	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ³Official

Public employment service

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

Mobility and administration

New Plymouth's nearest airport was NPL, 10 km away and offered 3 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Airport Direct Destinations Count	3 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights¹Official
Nearest Major Airport Distance Km	10 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports²Official
Nearest Major Airport Iata	NPL	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports²Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for New Plymouth. 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, Hybridsubsidized

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 New Plymouth.

Climate and air quality

New Plymouth's monthly mean temperatures were 17.6°C in January and 9.7°C in July. New Plymouth's monthly precipitation totalled 76.3 mm in January and 141.3 mm in July.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

Sunshine through the yearAverage monthly sunshine, hours

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Average daytime high by month	Jan 21.8 · Feb 22.5 · Mar 21.3 · Apr 19 · May 16.5 · Jun 14.3 · Jul 13.5 · Aug 14 · Sep 15.2 · Oct 16.3 · Nov 17.8 · Dec 20.2 °C	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI⁶Official · nearest-station reading
Average night-time low by month	Jan 13.4 · Feb 13.8 · Mar 12.3 · Apr 10.6 · May 8.9 · Jun 7.1 · Jul 5.9 · Aug 6.5 · Sep 8 · Oct 9.2 · Nov 10.1 · Dec 12.5 °C	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI⁷Official · nearest-station reading
Average temperature by month	Jan 17.6 · Feb 18.2 · Mar 16.8 · Apr 14.8 · May 12.7 · Jun 10.7 · Jul 9.7 · Aug 10.3 · Sep 11.6 · Oct 12.8 · Nov 14 · Dec 16.3 °C	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI⁸Official · nearest-station reading
Average precipitation by month	Jan 76.3 · Feb 89.8 · Mar 91.1 · Apr 117.1 · May 149.4 · Jun 143.6 · Jul 141.3 · Aug 128.8 · Sep 122.9 · Oct 127 · Nov 103.7 · Dec 119.3 mm	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI⁹Official · nearest-station reading
Average sunshine by month	Jan 260.1 · Feb 235.1 · Mar 227 · Apr 180.8 · May 149.9 · Jun 125.5 · Jul 142.5 · Aug 170.2 · Sep 171 · Oct 200.9 · Nov 225.4 · Dec 229.7 hours	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI¹⁰Official · nearest-station reading

Cities of a similar size in New Zealand

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

All New Zealand cities

Palmerston North78,021 residents Lower Hutt114,200 residents Napier64,695 residents Dunedin132,800 residents Porirua58,080 residents Rotorua55,326 residents

Population and city profile

At the end of 2023, the city's area measured 2,205.6 km². At the end of 2024, the population density reached 40.9 people per km².

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	2,206 km²	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁴Official
Foreign-resident share	17 %	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ³Official
Foreign residents	14,799 people	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ³Official
Population density	40.9 people/km²	31 Dec 2024	Stats NZ³Official
Population	90,100 people	31 Dec 2025	Stats NZ³Official

Population over time30 published observations, 1996–2025

Population rose 29.3% between 1996 and 2025, from 69,700 to 90,100.

International community in New Plymouth

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	3,477	6.0%
United Kingdom and Ireland	3,156	5.5%
Middle East and Africa	1,509	2.6%
Australia	1,098	1.9%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)	708	1.2%
Pacific Islands	594	1.0%
North America	534	0.9%
Other	234	0.4%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁵

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
New Zealand European	44,865	77.3%
Māori	10,662	18.4%
Other European	3,762	6.5%
Indian	2,142	3.7%
Southeast Asian	1,383	2.4%
Chinese	906	1.6%
Other Ethnicity	729	1.3%
Samoan	702	1.2%
Other Asian	600	1.0%
Cook Islands Maori	348	0.6%

Show 11 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Latin American	264	0.5%
Middle Eastern	231	0.4%
European nfd	198	0.3%
Fijian	174	0.3%
Tongan	162	0.3%
African	147	0.3%
Niuean	132	0.2%
Other Pacific Peoples	123	0.2%
Asian nfd	99	0.2%
Tokelauan	39	0.1%
Pacific Peoples nfd	15	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁵

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
European	47,886	82.5%
Māori	10,662	18.4%
Asian	5,085	8.8%
Pacific Peoples	1,563	2.7%
Other Ethnicity	729	1.3%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	636	1.1%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁵

Is New Plymouth 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 worker57%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 46–68%

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%

Retirement49%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 35–63%

Foreign residents14,799 people31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ

Population90,100 people31 Dec 2025Official source · Stats NZ

Unemployment rate3.7 %31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ

City area2,206 km²31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ

Foreign-resident share17 %31 Dec 2023Official source · Stats NZ

Population density40.9 people/km²31 Dec 2024Official source · Stats NZ

Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-08-05

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth?

The unemployment rate is 3.7 %. Source: Stats NZ.

How many people live in New Plymouth?

The published population is 90,100 people. Source: Stats NZ.

How many foreign residents live in New Plymouth?

14,799 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Stats NZ.

Is New Plymouth a good place to live?

New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth?

The official country of birth distribution records 1,098 people (1.9%) 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 14). New Plymouth, New Zealand: jobs, climate, population [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-8975a8c3d87026ab; version approved-static-8975a8c3d87026ab]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/new-plymouth/ Retrieved 2026-09-14. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_new-plymouth-new-zealand-jobs-climate-population_a1e852c71abe,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {New Plymouth, New Zealand: jobs, climate, population},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-14},
  version = {approved-static-8975a8c3d87026ab},
  snapshot = {approved-static-8975a8c3d87026ab},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/new-plymouth/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-14. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[New Plymouth, New Zealand: jobs, climate, population](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/new-plymouth/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-8975a8c3d87026ab; version approved-static-8975a8c3d87026ab; retrieved 2026-09-14; built 2026-09-14.

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

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
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-05

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.