List of cities in New Zealand


The word "city" began to take on two meanings in New Zealand after the local government reforms of 1989. Before the reforms, a borough council with more than 20,000 people could be proclaimed a city. The boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so there was little difference between the urban area and the local government area.
In 1989, the structure of the local government in New Zealand was significantly reorganised. The new district councils and city councils were nearly always much larger geographically, and they covered both urban land and the surrounding rural land. Many locations that once had had a "city council" are now governed by a "district council".
The word "city" is used in a general sense to describe the urban areas of New Zealand, independent of local body boundaries. This informal usage is jealously guarded. The district government of the town of Gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first "city" in the world to see the new millennium. However, Gisborne is governed by a "district council", though its status as a city is not generally disputed in New Zealand. Similarly, there is no "city council" in Auckland, though its status as a city is not generally disputed due to its size.
Today an urban area has to be at least 50,000 residents before it can be proclaimed as a city.

Urban areas by population

Population based on 2018 standard

One of the roles of Statistics New Zealand is to define standards for geographical areas and those standards are the basis for determining population. Statistics New Zealand announced in late 2017 that the Statistical Standard for Geographic Areas 2018 would replace the New Zealand Standard Areas Classification 1992. That change in standard most heavily impacted Wellington by being split into four, these being the Wellington city and Lower Hutt city "major urban areas" and Porirua and Upper Hutt "large urban areas". Wellington, as defined by Statistics New Zealand, approximately halved in size, and Lower Hutt first entered the city ranking in sixth place between Tauranga and Dunedin. Many satellite towns included within the NZSAC92 urban areas became urban areas in their own right under SSGA18, resulting in the addition of Hibiscus Coast to the list of large urban areas. Napier-Hastings was also split into its constituent cities rather than being one combined urban areas.
The table below contains all "major urban areas" and all "large urban areas". The two urban areas that will next move from the "medium urban area" category to the "large urban area" category are Paraparaumu and Timaru.
RankUrban areaPopulationArea
Population
density 		Notes
1Auckland

Population based on 1992 standard

Until the end of 2017, the standard devised in 1991 that applied was the New Zealand Standard Areas Classification 1992. The populations given in the table below are provisional New Zealand resident populations and they refer to the entire urban area as defined in NZSAC92.
RankUrban areaPopulationArea
Population
density 		Notes
1Auckland1086
2Wellington4441
3Christchurch608
4Hamilton8772
5Tauranga178
6Napier-Hastings3753
7Dunedin255
8Palmerston North178
9Nelson146
10Rotorua89
11Whangarei133
12New Plymouth112
13Invercargill123
14Whanganui1054
15Gisborne85

Notes:
  1. Kapiti Urban Area is the only Statistics New Zealand main urban area not listed. It spans the towns of Ōtaki, Paekakariki, Paraparaumu, Raumati Beach, Raumati South, and Waikanae, and is not considered to be a city. It is part of the Greater Wellington Regional Council's area – though listed separately by Statistics New Zealand. Hundreds of people there commute daily to Wellington for work, and the suburban commuter rail network serves the Kapiti area. If Kapiti were added to Wellington the total population of the Wellington urban area would be approximately 450,000.
  2. The population for the Hamilton urban zone is, the Cambridge urban zone is and the Te Awamutu urban zone is.
  3. The population for the Hastings urban zone is and for the Napier urban zone is.
  4. Still widely referred to by its older spelling of Wanganui.
  5. Blenheim is rarely referred to as a city.
  6. Pukekohe, a town in the south of the Auckland Region, has an estimated population of.
  7. Timaru once had a city council, but is now administered by a district council. It is classified as a secondary urban area by Statistics New Zealand. It is still considered a city and the principal centre of South Canterbury. Road signs state "city centre" rather than "town centre".
  8. Taupo is rarely referred to as a city.
  9. Masterton, the main centre in the Wairarapa, is rarely referred to as a city.
  10. Levin, the main centre in the Horowhenua district, is not considered to be a city.
  11. Tokoroa was long expected to become a city when its population continued to grow past 18,000 during the 1980s. However, with the fallback in the forestry industry, Tokoroa's main industry, many jobs were lost and Tokoroa's population declined. It now has residents.

    City councils

Populations of present-day city (and Auckland) councils

The populations given are the latest Statistics New Zealand estimated resident populations.
Rank City councilPopulationFirst proclaimed
1Auckland1871
2Christchurch1868
3Wellington1870
4Hamilton1936
5Tauranga1963
6Dunedin1865
7Lower Hutt1941
8Palmerston North1930
9Napier1950
10Porirua1965
11Invercargill1930
12Nelson1874
13Upper Hutt1966

Many cities were reorganised into districts by the Local Government Commission in 1989 under the Local Government Act 1974, for example Timaru. Other urban areas that are no longer cities, such as Rotorua and Whangarei, have higher populations than some present cities. The most recently proclaimed city is Tauranga, which became a city, for the second time, from 1 March 2004. Christchurch and Invercargill have also been declared cities more than once.
Under Section 27 of the Local Government Act 2002, a district may become a city by either a "reorganisation scheme" with the Local Government Commission, or under Section 27 it may apply for a change in status under Schedule 3, Clause 7. The new city must have "a population of not less than 50,000 persons", be "predominantly urban" and "a distinct entity and a major centre of activity within the region" that it is encompassed by. Existing cities are grandfathered under Schedule 2, Part 2 of the Act. The only new city council so far under this section is the Tauranga City Council, from 1 March 2004.
Previously, under Section 37L of the Local Government Act 1974, new cities could only be formed from a "reorganisation scheme". The same criteria were used. The last city to be constituted under this section was Invercargill, which was re-reorganised into a city in 1991.
In 1991 the Lower Hutt City Council became the Hutt City Council by a special Act of Parliament that which did not change the name of the city of Lower Hutt; the city's coat of arms still refers to the "City of Lower Hutt".

Cities during provincialism, 1852 to 1876

During provincialism in New Zealand, from 1852 until abolition in 1876, there was no uniform system of local authorities in New Zealand. There is thus some argument over which of the following cities was the first.
The Municipal Corporations Act 1876 included the first schedule of cities, with the dates they were constituted. Dunedin was the first city in New Zealand to be described in an Act of Parliament as 'City of...', something now automatic under the Local Government Act 2002.
Up to October 1989, the Local Government Commission under took reorganisations of local government. As a result, some cities were reorganised into other larger cities or changed to districts, and some of these areas are still considered cities by many New Zealanders. This is a list as at circa 1986.