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Best Places to Live in New Zealand (2026)

6 best-measured cities in New Zealand, ranked on 29 livability metrics — cost, safety, healthcare, transport, and more. Institutional data, not crowdsourced.

As of the 2026-09-09 snapshot, Auckland is the highest-scoring well-measured city in New Zealand at 80/100. Updated 2026-09-09.

Highest overall livability

  1. Auckland AucklandA80
  2. Tauranga Bay of PlentyB76
  3. Wellington Wellington RegionA76
  4. Christchurch CanterburyB76
  5. Dunedin OtagoB76
  6. Hamilton Waikato RegionB75

Most affordable

  1. Dunedin OtagoB63
  2. Christchurch CanterburyB56
  3. Hamilton Waikato RegionB54
  4. Auckland AucklandA53
  5. Tauranga Bay of PlentyB52
  6. Wellington Wellington RegionA47

Safest

  1. Tauranga Bay of PlentyB95
  2. Auckland AucklandA86
  3. Dunedin OtagoB86
  4. Wellington Wellington RegionA84
  5. Christchurch CanterburyB82
  6. Hamilton Waikato RegionB80