The New Zealand population is highly mobile, with 2.2 million people moving address within New Zealand between 2018 and 2023, according to census data released by Stats NZ today.
In the 2018 Census, just under 1.8 million people had moved address within New Zealand since the previous census in 2013. Although the number of people that moved between censuses was higher in 2023, it was a similar proportion of the population (44.6 percent in 2018 and 45.2 percent in 2023).
People who moved within New Zealand since the last census were most likely to have:
- moved within the same region (77.0 percent)
- moved to a different region on the same island (16.6 percent).
One in ten people lived in a different region in 2023 to where they lived in 2018.
Migrating south
In 2023, at least 4 percent of the population of each region in the South Island lived in the North Island in 2018. Otago had the highest rate of inter-island migration for any region in New Zealand, with 9.9 percent of the 2023 population having lived in the North Island in 2018.
In contrast, less than 2 percent of the 2023 population in most North Island regions lived in the South Island in 2018.
Wellington was the only region in the North Island where more than 2 percent of 2023 residents had lived in the South Island in 2018 (2.6 percent).
| Regional council | Percent |
| Northland | 1.4 |
| Auckland | 1.2 |
| Waikato | 1.3 |
| Bay of Plenty | 1.5 |
| Gisborne | 1.4 |
| Hawke's Bay | 1.4 |
| Taranaki | 1.3 |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 1.7 |
| Wellington | 2.6 |
| Tasman | 7.5 |
| Nelson | 8.0 |
| Marlborough | 8.7 |
| West Coast | 7.5 |
| Canterbury | 6.7 |
| Otago | 9.9 |
| Southland | 4.5 |
Canterbury and Otago had the highest number of people living in the region that had moved between the two islands since the 2018 Census (42,765 and 23,271 people respectively).
"Housing affordability and study opportunities are likely to be strong factors for drawing so many people to Canterbury and Otago from the North Island," 2023 Census spokesperson Dr Rosemary Goodyear said.
"House prices are typically lower in Canterbury than in much of the North Island. Students may be moving to study at universities - 15 to 29-year-olds made up one-third of people that moved to Canterbury from the North Island between 2018 and 2023, and half of those who moved to Otago from the North Island," Goodyear said.
Canterbury also had the highest number of people that had moved between the two islands since the previous censuses in 2018 and 2013. Otago had the second highest in 2018 and third highest in 2013. This appears to be a growing contributor to the population of these regions, with people moving from the North Island making up a larger share of Canterbury and Otago's populations in 2023 than in previous censuses.
In 2023, Auckland and Wellington regions had the next highest number of people that had moved between the two islands, with 19,986 and 13,116 people respectively. However, people moving from the South Island made up a much smaller share of the overall population in those regions in 2023.
People move from major cities to surrounding territorial authorities
In 2023, people who had lived in major cities five years earlier made up a notable proportion of the populations in nearby territorial authorities. For example:
- 16.7 percent of people living in Selwyn district in 2023 lived in Christchurch city in 2018
- 11.2 percent of people living in Waimakariri district in 2023 lived in Christchurch city in 2018
- 8.9 percent of people living in Porirua city in 2023 lived in Wellington city in 2018
- 7.4 percent of people living in South Wairarapa district in 2023 lived in Wellington city in 2018.
"We saw a large spike in house prices nationally between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This, combined with increasing flexibility for people to work from home, likely contributed to people moving out of cities and into more affordable areas within commuting distance," Goodyear said.
Migration loss in Auckland
Between 2018 and 2023, more internal migrants left Auckland for other parts of the country than moved to Auckland.
"The 2023 Census data has shown that roughly 50,000 more people left Auckland for other parts of the country than moved to Auckland from elsewhere in New Zealand between censuses," Goodyear said.
More than 135,000 people who lived in Auckland in 2018 moved to another part of New Zealand by 2023. The most common regions people leaving Auckland moved to were Waikato (34,479), Northland (19,266), and Canterbury (17,283).
Meanwhile, around 85,000 people who lived in other parts of New Zealand in 2018 had moved to Auckland by 2023. Most of these people moved from another area in the North Island (65,064), while a smaller number moved from the South Island (19,986).
Auckland has consistently had a net internal migration loss between recent censuses, and this number has grown. Between 2013 and 2018, Auckland had a net loss of more than 40,000 people moving to other regions in New Zealand, compared with 50,000 between 2018 and 2023.
Despite more internal migrants leaving Auckland than moving to Auckland, Auckland's overall population grew between censuses. Census data shows that births (98,565) and people moving from overseas (90,366) in the five years between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses more than offset the net loss from internal migration in Auckland.
"Auckland is the gateway to New Zealand for new migrants to the country. More than 90,000 people who lived in Auckland in 2023 were living overseas five years earlier, according to the census," Goodyear said.
Deaths and international migrant departures also contribute to population loss but are not captured in the census.
Place and ethnic group summaries provides information on deaths in the Auckland region.
Migration has a range of migration information.
