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---

# Largest cities in New Zealand

New Zealand cities ranked by their own published resident population.

- Canonical: /reports/new-zealand-largest-cities/
- Last checked: 2026-08-13

## Answers

### Auckland, New Zealand

1,798,300 people
- Source: https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Subnational-population-estimates/Subnational-population-estimates-At-30-June-2024/Download-data/subnational-population-estimates-at-30-june-2024-provisional.xlsx
- Checked: 2026-08-03

### Christchurch, New Zealand

380,079 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Wellington, New Zealand

202,689 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/TA/wellington-city
- Checked: 2026-07-29

### Hamilton, New Zealand

174,741 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Tauranga, New Zealand

161,000 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/tauranga-city
- Checked: 2026-08-03

### Dunedin, New Zealand

132,800 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/dunedin-city
- Checked: 2026-08-03

### Lower Hutt, New Zealand

114,200 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/lower-hutt-city
- Checked: 2026-08-03

### New Plymouth, New Zealand

90,100 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/new-plymouth-district
- Checked: 2026-08-03

### Palmerston North, New Zealand

78,021 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Napier, New Zealand

64,695 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Porirua, New Zealand

58,080 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Rotorua, New Zealand

55,326 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Nelson, New Zealand

54,300 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/nelson-city
- Checked: 2026-08-03

### Whangarei, New Zealand

53,841 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Gisborne, New Zealand

52,700 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/gisborne-district
- Checked: 2026-08-03

### Invercargill, New Zealand

48,987 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Hastings, New Zealand

47,682 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Upper Hutt, New Zealand

42,903 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Whanganui, New Zealand

41,481 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Paraparaumu, New Zealand

28,938 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Blenheim, New Zealand

28,788 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Rolleston, New Zealand

28,449 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Timaru, New Zealand

28,095 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Pukekohe, New Zealand

27,042 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Taupo, New Zealand

25,374 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Queenstown, New Zealand

25,050 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Masterton, New Zealand

21,606 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Cambridge, New Zealand

21,366 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

### Ashburton, New Zealand

20,346 people
- Source: https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
- Checked: 2026-08-13

## Method

Every row is a published population observation, ranked highest first. The values were observed between 2023 and 2025. A place appears only when it publishes this exact metric, so an absent place means missing data rather than a low value. Only published cities with at least 20,000 residents and city-level observations qualify.

## Sources

Stats NZ — https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Subnational-population-estimates/Subnational-population-estimates-At-30-June-2024/Download-data/subnational-population-estimates-at-30-june-2024-provisional.xlsx
Stats NZ Urban Rural 2023 place summaries — Census population — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/UR
Wellington City profile — population and census summary — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/TA/wellington-city
Stats NZ — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/tauranga-city
Stats NZ — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/dunedin-city
Stats NZ — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/lower-hutt-city
Stats NZ — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/new-plymouth-district
Stats NZ — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/nelson-city
Stats NZ — https://tools.summaries.stats.govt.nz/places/ta/gisborne-district

## Cite

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.

### APA

ImmigrationDB. (2026, September 29). Largest cities in New Zealand [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 521e8247fd58c59170f971420e12fb68]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/reports/new-zealand-largest-cities/ Retrieved 2026-09-29. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

### BibTeX

```bibtex
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_largest-cities-in-new-zealand_e33e6e151c85,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Largest cities in New Zealand},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-29},
  version = {521e8247fd58c59170f971420e12fb68},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/reports/new-zealand-largest-cities/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-29. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
```

### Markdown

[Largest cities in New Zealand](https://immigrationdb.com/reports/new-zealand-largest-cities/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 521e8247fd58c59170f971420e12fb68; retrieved 2026-09-29; built 2026-09-29.

- Citation schema: `immigrationdb-citation-v1`
- Canonical URL: https://immigrationdb.com/reports/new-zealand-largest-cities/
- Title: Largest cities in New Zealand
- Author: ImmigrationDB
- Publisher: ImmigrationDB
- Snapshot: `approved-static-c6015be852c3d22b`
- Version: `521e8247fd58c59170f971420e12fb68`
- Retrieved: 2026-09-29
- Built: 2026-09-29
- Compilation license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

## Boundary

This ranking is a source-backed reference. Read the source, geographic grain and observation date before comparing rows.