Living in Timaru

In Timaru, unemployment is 2.8% (2023).

Timaru had 28,095 residents in March 2023 and is a city in New Zealand. The city covers 33.98 km², with a population density of 872.5 people per km² in March 2023.

Last checked 2026-10-0714 sources

Population28,095people7 Mar 2023Official source · Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population

Median gross salary (region)3,060EUR/month30 Jun 2025Official source · Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter

Median rent1,096EUR/month31 Jul 2026District figureOfficial source · Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority

Unemployment rate2.8%country median 3.3% — 15% belowOfficial source · Stats NZ

Recorded crime2,707incidents per 100,00030 Jun 2026District figureOfficial source · Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026

PM2.5, annual mean15µg/m³country median 9.3 — 62% aboveOfficial source · cdn.who.int

Lower unemployment than 63% of New Zealand cities that publish it and dirtier air than 93% of New Zealand cities that publish it.

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

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 Timaru.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 broadband⁵Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	37.06 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	One NZ Endless Plus⁵Official · national market
Median monthly rent	1,096 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Rental bond data — monthly by territorial authority⁸Official · county

Is Timaru 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 47–67%

Skilled employee69%strong on work, weak on education · range 59–79%

Student34%strong on legal route, weak on education · range 22–46%

Family61%strong on family, weak on education · range 49–73%

Retirement23%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 11–35%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Timaru?

The unemployment rate is 2.8 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ¹⁰

Unemployment across cities in New ZealandUnemployment in Timaru is 2.8%. Of 91 cities with data, 42 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

0–22–44–66–88–1014–16

Timaru 2.8%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median gross salary (regional)	3,060 EUR/month	30 Jun 2025	Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter¹³Official · regional context
Unemployment rate	2.8 %country median 3.3%	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ¹⁰Official

What does a salary buy in Timaru?

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

Left over each month€1,304of €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	− €1,096
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	€1,304

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

Public employment service

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

Safety

How safe is Timaru?

Police recorded about 2,707 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 2026¹⁴

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	2,707 incidents per 100,000	30 Jun 2026	Victimisations Time and Place — Map export, July 2025 to June 2026¹⁴Official · county

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Destinations from nearest airport	1 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights⁶Official
Nearest airport	TIU	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁷Official
Distance to nearest airport	11 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁷Official

Language courses and integration in Timaru

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

Verified locally

1verified local records

Timaru

View official record

Check courses in Timaru 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.

Find courses near Timaru

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Timaru?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 15 µg/m³ (2012) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: cdn.who.int¹

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

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

PM2.515WHO 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 Timaru is 15.0 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

Timaru 15.0

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	15 µg/m³country median 9.3	31 Dec 2012	cdn.who.int¹Official
Monthly extreme high temperature	Jan 27.71 · Feb 27.53 · Mar 27.15 · Apr 21.51 · May 20.06 · Jun 15.23 · Jul 14.92 · Aug 16.17 · Sep 18.57 · Oct 22.44 · Nov 25.23 · Dec 26.82 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center³Official
Monthly extreme low temperature	Jan 7.73 · Feb 7.59 · Mar 6.84 · Apr 4.64 · May 2.99 · Jun 0.74 · Jul 0.73 · Aug -1 · Sep 2.83 · Oct 3.25 · Nov 4.56 · Dec 6.2 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center³Official
Average temperature by month	Jan 15.77 · Feb 15.74 · Mar 14.57 · Apr 12.25 · May 9.91 · Jun 7.57 · Jul 6.9 · Aug 7.62 · Sep 9.2 · Oct 10.63 · Nov 12.57 · Dec 14.5 °C	31 Dec 2001	NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center³Official

Population and city profile

How many people live in Timaru?

The published population was 28,095 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹²

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 7,608 is not 16% of the population. Each row names its source.

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport72.9%
Foreign residents27.1%

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	33.98 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.⁴Official
Foreign-resident share	16 %	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ¹⁰Official
Foreign residents	7,608 people	31 Dec 2023	Stats NZ¹⁰Official
Population density	872.5 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.⁹Official
Population	28,095 people	7 Mar 2023	Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population¹²Official

International community in Timaru

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	1,512	5.4%
United Kingdom and Ireland	1,032	3.7%
Pacific Islands	732	2.6%
Middle East and Africa	672	2.4%
Australia	453	1.6%
Europe (excl United Kingdom and Ireland)	255	0.9%
North America	144	0.5%
Other	72	0.3%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹¹

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
European	23,880	85.0%
Māori	3,039	10.8%
Asian	2,022	7.2%
Pacific Peoples	1,317	4.7%
Other Ethnicity	348	1.2%
Middle Eastern/Latin American/African	264	0.9%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹¹

Ancestry or ethnicity

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

Published group	People	Share
New Zealand European	22,731	80.9%
Māori	3,039	10.8%
Other European	1,356	4.8%
Indian	702	2.5%
Southeast Asian	648	2.3%
Samoan	585	2.1%
Tongan	402	1.4%
Chinese	390	1.4%
Other Ethnicity	348	1.2%
Other Asian	246	0.9%

Show 11 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Fijian	135	0.5%
Cook Islands Maori	117	0.4%
Middle Eastern	105	0.4%
Other Pacific Peoples	93	0.3%
Latin American	93	0.3%
European nfd	69	0.2%
African	66	0.2%
Asian nfd	60	0.2%
Tokelauan	39	0.1%
Niuean	27	0.1%
Pacific Peoples nfd	12	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹¹

Alternatives for people set on Timaru

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.

Wellington as a Timaru alternative in the same country

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: 34.4% Wellington vs 16.0% Timaru+115%
Median gross pay, region: €3,848 (2024) Wellington vs €3,060 (2025) Timaruno percentage
Nearest airport: 5.0 km Wellington vs 11.0 km Timaru−55%

Full comparison More about Wellington

Cities near Timaru

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

Alternative cities in New Zealand

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

All New Zealand cities

Rolleston28,449 residents Blenheim28,788 residents Paraparaumu28,938 residents Pukekohe27,042 residents Taupō25,374 residents Queenstown25,050 residents

How does Timaru compare?

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

Open the full comparison

Timaru in rankings

#7 of 27 in Cities with lowest unemployment in New Zealand #12 of 12 in Cities with cleanest air in New Zealand #19 of 23 in Most international cities in New Zealand #23 of 29 in Largest cities in New Zealand

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Timaru 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 Timaru?

The published population was 28,095 people in March 2023. Source: Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population.

Is the air quality good in Timaru?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 15 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.

How safe is Timaru?

What is the unemployment rate in Timaru?

The unemployment rate is 2.8 % (2023). Source: Stats NZ.

What is the typical salary around Timaru?

The median gross salary is 3,060 EUR/month. Source: Table 18: LEED measures, by industry (based on ANZSIC06) and region, June 2025 quarter.

How many foreign residents live in Timaru?

7,608 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Stats NZ.

Is Timaru a good place to live?

Timaru 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 Timaru?

Temuka is near Timaru. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people born in Asia live in Timaru?

The official country of birth distribution records 1,512 people (5.4%) 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). Timaru, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; version a0eed8079b5429d68887e74d41228465]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/timaru/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_timaru-new-zealand-population-rent-salary-jobs-safety_891141089571,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Timaru, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {a0eed8079b5429d68887e74d41228465},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/timaru/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Timaru, New Zealand: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/nz/timaru/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version a0eed8079b5429d68887e74d41228465; 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

cdn.who.int cdn.who.int · checked 2026-08-26
Coordinate identity evidence services2.arcgis.com · checked 2026-09-06
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
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

Show 4 more sources

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
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

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.