List of New Zealand urban areas by population explained

This article lists urban areas of New Zealand—as defined by Statistics New Zealand—ranked by population. Only the 150 largest urban areas are listed.

Urban areas are defined by the Statistical Standard for Geographic Areas 2018 (SSGA18).

rank	Name	Region	estimate	Census population^[1]		Growth
				2023	2018	2023 to	2018 to 2023
1	Auckland	Auckland		1,402,275	1,345,833
2	Christchurch	Canterbury		380,079	358,068
3	Wellington	Wellington		201,708	201,792
4	Hamilton	Waikato		174,741	160,911
5	Tauranga	Bay of Plenty		152,790	137,130
6	Lower Hutt	Wellington		106,530	103,545
7	Dunedin	Otago		100,908	99,885
8	Palmerston North	Manawatū-Whanganui		78,021	76,281
9	Hibiscus Coast	Auckland		63,351	53,730
10	Napier	Hawke's Bay		64,695	62,241
11	Porirua	Wellington		58,080	55,218
12	New Plymouth	Taranaki		58,047	54,279
13	Rotorua	Bay of Plenty		55,326	54,186
14	Whangārei	Northland		53,841	51,894
15	Hastings	Hawke's Bay		47,682	45,075
16	Invercargill	Southland		48,987	47,844
17	Nelson	Nelson		49,224	48,129
18	Upper Hutt	Wellington		42,903	41,301
19	Whanganui	Manawatū-Whanganui		41,481	39,777
20	Gisborne	Gisborne		36,912	34,644
21	Rolleston	Canterbury		28,449	17,541
22	Blenheim	Marlborough		28,788	27,648
23	Paraparaumu	Wellington		28,938	28,701
24	Timaru	Canterbury		28,095	27,501
25	Pukekohe	Auckland		27,042	23,841
26	Queenstown	Otago		25,050	20,346
27	Taupō	Waikato		25,374	23,622
28	Masterton	Wellington		21,606	19,917
29	Cambridge	Waikato		21,366	18,681
30	Ashburton	Canterbury		20,346	19,356
31	Levin	Manawatū-Whanganui		19,533	17,775
32	Richmond	Tasman		18,447	15,378
32	Rangiora	Canterbury		18,855	17,898
34	Feilding	Manawatū-Whanganui		16,929	15,990
35	Whakatāne	Bay of Plenty		16,419	15,795
36	Mosgiel	Otago		14,589	13,656
37	Havelock North	Hawke's Bay		15,003	14,391
38	Tokoroa	Waikato		14,001	13,572
39	Oamaru	Otago		13,680	13,065
40	Te Awamutu	Waikato		13,380	12,543
41	Kaiapoi	Canterbury		13,017	11,853
42	Wānaka	Otago		11,922	9,555
43	Waikanae	Wellington		12,966	12,099
44	Lincoln	Canterbury		10,611	6,522
45	Hāwera	Taranaki		10,365	9,792
46	Te Puke	Bay of Plenty		9,114	8,631
47	Waiuku	Auckland		9,531
48	Morrinsville	Waikato		9,003
49	Matamata	Waikato		9,132
50	Huntly	Waikato		8,232
51	Greymouth	West Coast		8,337
52	Ngāruawāhia	Waikato		7,992
53	Kerikeri	Northland		8,070
54	Beachlands-Pine Harbour	Auckland		7,797
55	Motueka	Tasman		8,190
56	Gore	Southland		8,181
57	Waiheke Island	Auckland		7,998
58	Waitara	Taranaki		7,509
59	Kawerau	Bay of Plenty		7,539
60=	Cromwell	Otago		6,783
60=	Thames	Waikato		7,212
62	Kumeū-Huapai	Auckland		6,948
63	Pōkeno	Waikato		6,081
64	Warkworth	Auckland		6,675
65	Whitianga	Waikato		6,054
66	Stratford	Taranaki		6,330
67	Kaitaia	Northland		5,955
68	Tuakau	Waikato		5,736
69	Alexandra	Otago		5,589
70	Waihi	Waikato		5,682
71	Carterton	Wellington		5,859
72	Katikati	Bay of Plenty		5,580
73	Marton	Manawatū-Whanganui		5,598
74	Prebbleton	Canterbury		5,382
75	Dannevirke	Manawatū-Whanganui		5,580
76	Ōmokoroa	Bay of Plenty		5,451
77	Ōtaki	Wellington		5,025
78	Dargaville	Northland		5,016
79=	Ngongotahā	Bay of Plenty		5,124
79=	Ōpōtiki	Bay of Plenty		4,839
81	Woodend	Canterbury		4,542
82	Taumarunui	Manawatū-Whanganui		4,821
83	Wairoa	Hawke's Bay		4,707
84=	Kaikohe	Northland		4,563
84=	Picton	Marlborough		4,812
84=	Te Kūiti	Waikato		4,659
87	Waipukurau	Hawke's Bay		4,698
88	Temuka	Canterbury		4,593
89	Paeroa	Waikato		4,458
90	Te Aroha	Waikato		4,650
91	Westport	West Coast		4,527
92	Putāruru	Waikato		4,455
93	Balclutha	Otago		4,347
94	Whangamatā	Waikato		4,269
95	Pegasus	Canterbury		3,915
96	Raglan	Waikato		3,717
97	Inglewood	Taranaki		3,801
98	Tūrangi	Waikato		3,792
99	Snells Beach	Auckland		3,678
100	Waimate	Canterbury		3,591
101	Riverhead	Auckland		3,558
102	Kihikihi	Waikato		3,456
103	Foxton	Manawatū-Whanganui		3,384
104	Ashhurst	Manawatū-Whanganui		3,237
105	Helensville	Auckland		3,279
106	Ōtorohanga	Waikato		3,180
107	Ōhope	Bay of Plenty		3,033
108	Lyttelton	Canterbury		3,123
109	Darfield	Canterbury		3,249
110	Hokitika	West Coast		3,267
111	One Tree Point	Northland		2,988
112=	Arrowtown	Otago		2,838
112=	Te Anau	Southland		2,751
114	Te Kauwhata	Waikato		3,303
115	Geraldine	Canterbury		3,018
116	Ruakākā	Northland		2,817
117	Pahiatua	Manawatū-Whanganui		2,838
118=	Greytown	Wellington		2,772
118=	Mangawhai Heads	Northland		2,685
120=	Featherston	Wellington		2,793
120=	Waihi Beach-Bowentown	Bay of Plenty		2,550
122	Wakefield	Tasman		2,694
123	Renwick	Marlborough		2,448
124	Maraetai	Auckland		2,553
125	Winton	Southland		2,475
123	West Melton	Canterbury		2,409
127	Leeston	Canterbury		2,271
128	Waipawa	Hawke's Bay		2,334
129=	Amberley	Canterbury		2,520
129=	Oxford	Canterbury		2,235
131	Brightwater	Tasman		2,280
132	Kaikōura	Canterbury		2,316
133	Wellsford	Auckland		2,037
134	Milton	Otago		2,121
135	Bulls	Manawatū-Whanganui		2,055
136	Foxton Beach	Manawatū-Whanganui		2,130
137	Ōtaki Beach	Wellington		2,145
138=	Clive	Hawke's Bay		1,992
138=	Moerewa	Northland		1,845
140	Eltham	Taranaki		2,097
141=	Martinborough	Wellington		1,875
141=	Murupara	Bay of Plenty		1,884
143	Lake Hāwea	Otago		2,001
144	Methven	Canterbury		1,977
145	Coromandel	Waikato		1,782
146	Twizel	Canterbury		1,674
147	Bluff	Southland		1,797
148	Paekākāriki	Wellington		1,674
149	Edgecumbe	Bay of Plenty		1,800
150	Taihape	Manawatū-Whanganui		1,668

See also

• List of cities in New Zealand
• List of towns in New Zealand

Notes and References

1. Web site: https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=rc.1043%2B1093%2B1108%2B1180%2B1239%2B1246%2B1278%2B1288%2B1296%2B1307%2B1342%2B1364%2B1394%2B1398%2B1399%2B1402%2B2024%2B2106%2B2233%2B2278%2B99999.2013%2B2018%2B2023&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001&ly[rs]=CEN23_TBT_GEO_006&to[TIME]=false Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses Aotearoa Data Explorer ]. 2024-10-03 . explore.data.stats.govt.nz/.