Living in Taupō

In Taupō, the median rent tenants pay is €1,348 a month (2026) and unemployment is 3.6% (2023).

Taupo covers 42.09 km², with a population density of 616.7 people per km² in March 2023. The population of Taupo, in New Zealand, was 25,374 in March 2023.

Last checked 2026-10-0716 sources

Population25,374people7 Mar 2023Official source · Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population

Median gross salary (region)3,063EUR/month30 Jun 2025Official source · Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter

Median rent1,348EUR/month31 Jul 2026Official source · Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority

Unemployment rate3.6%country median 3.3% — 9% aboveOfficial source · Stats NZ

Recorded crime5,534incidents per 100,00030 Jun 2026Official source · Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026

PM2.5, annual mean9.28µg/m³country median 9.3 — about the sameOfficial source · LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations

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

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 Taupō.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 broadband³Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	37.06 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	One NZ Endless Plus³Official · national market
Median monthly rent	1,348 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority⁶Official

Is Taupō 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 worker38%strong on work, weak on safety · range 30–46%

Skilled employee64%strong on work, weak on education · range 55–73%

Student35%strong on legal route, weak on education · range 25–45%

Family50%strong on family, weak on education · range 41–59%

Retirement26%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 16–36%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Taupo?

The unemployment rate is 3.6 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ⁸

Unemployment across cities in New ZealandUnemployment in Taupō is 3.6%. Of 91 cities with data, 42 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

0–22–44–66–88–1014–16

Taupō 3.6%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	3,063 EUR/month	30 Jun 2025	Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter¹¹Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	3.6 %country median 3.3%	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁸Official

What does a salary buy in Taupō?

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

Left over each month€1,052of €2,472 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.	€2,472
Rentmedian rent of a whole dwelling · official · Rental bond data · 2026-07-31	− €1,348
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	€1,052

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

Public employment service

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

Safety

How safe is Taupo?

Police recorded about 5,534 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 2026¹²

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	5,534 incidents per 100,000	30 Jun 2026	Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026¹²Official

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Destinations from nearest airport	2 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights⁴Official
Nearest airport	TUO	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁵Official
Distance to nearest airport	6 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁵Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Taupō. 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 Taupō.

Find courses near Taupō

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Taupo?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 9.3 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: 9.28 µg/m³ · LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations¹

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

0°

23°12°

21°10°

17°7°

14°5°

12°3°

11°3°

12°3°

14°5°

16°6°

18°8°

21°11°

JFMAMJJASOND

Night-time low to daytime high

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

100

JFMAMJJASOND

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

PM2.59.3WHO 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 Taupō is 9.3 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

Taupō 9.3

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	9.28 µg/m³country median 9.3 — about the same	31 Dec 2024	LAWA Air Quality Dataset (2016–2025), daily PM2.5 observations¹Official
Average daytime high by month	Jan 23 · Feb 23 · Mar 20.7 · Apr 17.4 · May 14.4 · Jun 11.9 · Jul 11.1 · Aug 12 · Sep 13.9 · Oct 16 · Nov 18.3 · Dec 20.9 °C	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI¹³Official
Average night-time low by month	Jan 11.6 · Feb 11.9 · Mar 9.8 · Apr 7.2 · May 5.2 · Jun 3.3 · Jul 2.5 · Aug 3 · Sep 4.6 · Oct 6.4 · Nov 7.8 · Dec 10.6 °C	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI¹⁴Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 17.3 · Feb 17.4 · Mar 15.2 · Apr 12.3 · May 9.8 · Jun 7.6 · Jul 6.8 · Aug 7.5 · Sep 9.2 · Oct 11.2 · Nov 13.1 · Dec 15.7 °C	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI¹⁵Official
Average precipitation by month	Jan 73.4 · Feb 64.8 · Mar 65.9 · Apr 77.3 · May 79.4 · Jun 93 · Jul 99.8 · Aug 88.6 · Sep 79 · Oct 74.2 · Nov 64.7 · Dec 88 mm	31 Dec 1991	World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI¹⁶Official

Similar climate. In New Zealand: Lower Hutt ±2.5 °C. Elsewhere: Ventura (United States) ±5.9 °C, Cork (Ireland) ±6.6 °C, Saanich (Canada) ±7.3 °C, Downey (United States) ±7.8 °C, Reims (France) ±8.2 °C. Twenty closest, compared month by month

Monthly highs and lows against the 1991–2020 station normals of the nearest station; ± is the average monthly difference.

Population and city profile

How many people live in Taupo?

The published population was 25,374 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹⁰

Foreign residents and their share come from different publications that count different groups (for example citizens of another country, or people born abroad, or of foreign origin), so 7,170 is not 17.8% of the population. Each row names its source.

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport71.7%
Foreign residents28.3%

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	42.09 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.²Official
Foreign-resident share	17.8 %	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁸Official
Foreign residents	7,170 people	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ⁸Official
Population density	616.7 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.⁷Official
Population	25,374 people	7 Mar 2023	Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹⁰Official

International community in Taupō

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	1,596	6.4%
Asia	1,389	5.5%
Middle East and Africa	624	2.5%
Australia	504	2.0%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)	396	1.6%
Pacific Islands	312	1.2%
North America	216	0.9%
Other	69	0.3%

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	18,189	71.7%
Māori	6,492	25.6%
Other European	1,749	6.9%
Indian	834	3.3%
Southeast Asian	504	2.0%
Chinese	342	1.3%
Other Ethnicity	342	1.3%
Samoan	321	1.3%
Other Asian	255	1.0%
Cook Islands Maori	243	1.0%

Show 11 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Tokelauan	204	0.8%
European nfd	138	0.5%
Fijian	138	0.5%
Latin American	84	0.3%
African	72	0.3%
Asian nfd	66	0.3%
Middle Eastern	66	0.3%
Tongan	63	0.2%
Niuean	60	0.2%
Other Pacific Peoples	39	0.2%
Pacific Peoples nfd	9	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	19,686	77.6%
Māori	6,492	25.6%
Asian	1,989	7.8%
Pacific Peoples	966	3.8%
Other Ethnicity	342	1.3%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	219	0.9%

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

Alternatives for people set on Taupō

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.

Nelson as a Taupō alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 377 km, better on 2 of 2 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Median gross pay, region cannot be compared like for like.

Foreign residents: 26.4% Nelson vs 17.8% Taupō+48%
Median gross pay, region: €3,247 (2024) Nelson vs €3,063 (2025) Taupōno percentage
Unemployment: 3.4% Nelson vs 3.6% Taupō−6%

Full comparison More about Nelson

Alternative cities in New Zealand

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

All New Zealand cities

Queenstown25,050 residents Pukekohe27,042 residents Timaru28,095 residents Rolleston28,449 residents Blenheim28,788 residents Paraparaumu28,938 residents

How does Taupō compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Taupō in rankings

#8 of 12 in Cities with cleanest air in New Zealand #10 of 27 in Cities with lowest unemployment in New Zealand #17 of 23 in Most international cities in New Zealand #18 of 22 in Cheapest cities to rent in New Zealand #25 of 29 in Largest cities in New Zealand

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Taupō 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 Taupo?

The published population was 25,374 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population.

Is the air quality good in Taupo?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 9.3 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 Taupo?

What is the unemployment rate in Taupo?

The unemployment rate is 3.6 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ.

What is the typical salary around Taupō?

The median gross salary is 3,063 EUR/month. Source: Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter.

How many foreign residents live in Taupō?

7,170 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Stats NZ.

Is Taupō a good place to live?

Taupō 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 United Kingdom and Ireland live in Taupō?

The official country of birth distribution records 1,596 people (6.4%) 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). Taupō, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 62fa0cea1f659e261a02aa21784006a1]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/taupo/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_taupo-new-zealand-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_952dc3f17a04,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Taupō, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {62fa0cea1f659e261a02aa21784006a1},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/taupo/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Taupō, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/taupo/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 62fa0cea1f659e261a02aa21784006a1; 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
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 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

Show 6 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
Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026 Victimisations Time and Place · public.tableau.com · checked 2026-10-05
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
World Meteorological Organization / NOAA NCEI nodc.noaa.gov · checked 2026-08-03

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.