Hamilton retains crown as NZ’s fastest growing city

Wednesday, 29 October 2025

Hamilton has retained the crown of the country’s fastest growing city, outpacing other parts of the country,as the overall pace of growth slows across New Zealand.

Provisional estimates released by Stats NZ this week show New Zealand’s population reached about 5.324 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of 0.7% over the previous year.

Waikato’s population grew by 1%, making it one of the country’s stronger-performing regions.

Hamilton city grew by 1.4% in the June 2025 year and was the fastest growing city council area, reaching 192,100 people at June 30, 2025, a title it has now held since 2023. Auckland and Christchurch were next fast growing cities on one percent growth.

While 800 left Hamilton for other parts of the country, it was balanced by a net international migration gain of 1,900, and natural increase of 1,500, resulting in Hamilton’s population increasing by 2,600 people.

The figures show growth easing in most parts of the country. Canterbury recorded the fastest regional increase, at 1.1%, while the North Island as a whole grew by 0.6% and the South Island by 0.8%. Several regions — including Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson and Marlborough — recorded small population declines.

Nearly 2 in 3 people living in New Zealand live in Auckland or one of New Zealand’s 12 cities (64%). This proportion has remained similar over the last three decades.

Stats NZ said national growth for the year was driven mainly by a natural increase of about 21,000 people, while net migration added 13,700.

The Waikato region’s above-average growth rate places it among a small group of areas still expanding faster than the national average. That trend continues a pattern seen over the past decade, in which Hamilton has been one of the country’s more consistent growth centres.