Aucklanders have the poorest sense of quality of life of people in eight New Zealand cities, a survey has found.
The Nielsen 2018 Quality of Life survey showed Tauranga had the best quality of life among the eight cities surveyed, with 91 percent of residents saying their quality of life was good.
Tauranga also scored highest for health, emotional wellbeing and appreciation of the natural environment.
Hutt City and Wellington were not far behind Tauranga in the quality of life stakes, with 90 and 89 percent of residents respectively saying their quality of life was good.
Only 79 percent of Aucklanders said their city was a great place to live, while 94 percent of Wellingtonians thought their city was a wonderful place to be.
Porirua residents had the dimmest view of their city, with just 72 percent saying it was great place to reside.
Just under half of respondents said housing costs were affordable - and Aucklanders were most likely to say housing was not affordable.
Housing was rated as most affordable in Dunedin, followed by Hutt City, Christchurch, and Tauranga.
Despite the high life satisfaction rating, Tauranga residents were most likely to say their city had become a worse place to live in the past 12 months. The two main reasons cited were increased traffic congestion and population.
At 83 percent, Tauranga's score for traffic frustration was significantly higher than any other city, with Auckland coming in next at 36 percent.
Christchurch residents said their city had become better over the past year more than residents of other cities, with 56 percent seeing improvements.
Good relationships, finances and health and wellbeing were the main reasons people cited for positive quality of life ratings.
Poor financial situations, health, and housing quantity, quality and cost were the main factors behind people giving negative quality of life ratings.
Just under a third of respondents living in the eight cities felt their quality of life had improved over the past year, while 13 percent felt it had declined.
Dunedin residents were most likely to see a decrease in quality of life.
Snapshots from the survey:
Overall quality of life comparisons with other cities:
Tauranga 91 percent
Hutt 90 percent
Wellington 89 percent
Dunedin 87 percent
Porirua 85 percent
Hamilton 84 percent
Christchurch 84 percent
Auckland 83 percent
Is your town a great place to live?
Wellington 94 percent
Dunedin 87 percent
Tauranga 86 percent
Hutt 81 percent
Auckland 79 percent
Hamilton 75 percent
Christchurch 73 percent
Porirua 72 percent
Do you feel a sense of pride in the look and feel of your area?
Wellington 89 percent
Dunedin 73 percent
Tauranga 66 per cent
Auckland 62 percent
Hamilton 53 percent
Hutt 50 percent
Christchurch 44 percent
Porirua 43 percent
Are your housing costs affordable?
Dunedin 65 percent
Hutt 58 percent
Christchurch 57 percent
Tauranga 56 percent
Hamilton 51 percent
Wellington 50 percent
Porirua 47 per cent
Auckland 41 percent
Reasons for positive quality of life rating
Lifestyle
Christchurch 40 percent
Tauranga 39 percent
Wellington 36 percent
Dunedin 35 percent
Hutt 34 percent
Porirua 33 percent
Auckland 32 percent
Hamilton 31 percent
Appreciation of natural environment
Tauranga 13 percent
Auckland 8 percent
Porirua 8 percent
Dunedin 8 percent
Wellington 7 percent
Hutt 5 percent
Christchurch 4 percent
Hamilton 3 percent
Health and Wellbeing
Dunedin 45 percent
Christchurch 45 percent
Tauranga 43 percent
Wellington 42 percent
Auckland 41 percent
Hamilton 41 percent
Hutt 40 percent
Porirua 40 percent
Relationships
Wellington 49 percent
Christchurch 49 percent
Tauranga 48 percent
Dunedin 45 percent
Auckland 44 percent
Hutt 44 percent
Porirua 44 percent
Hamilton 41 percent
Why has your city become a better place to live over the previous 12 months?
Improved amenities
Auckland 37 percent
Hutt 35 percent
Dunedin 32 percent
Tauranga 31 percent
Christchurch 24 percent
Wellington 22 percent
Porirua 20 percent
Hamilton 19 percent
Growth - economy and business
Tauranga 15 percent
Dunedin 12 percent
Hamilton 8 percent
Christchurch 7 percent
Porirua 7 percent
Hutt 5 percent
Wellington 3 percent
Auckland 3 percent
Good roads/roads being upgraded
Christchurch 16 percent
Tauranga 14 percent
Auckland 10 percent
Hamilton 10 percent
Hutt 8 percent
Wellington 6 percent
Dunedin 4 percent
Porirua 3 percent
Why has your city become a worse place to live over the last 12 months?
More traffic and traffic congestion
Tauranga 83 percent
Auckland 36 percent
Hamilton 32 percent
Wellington 29 percent
Hutt 25 percent
Dunedin 19 percent
Christchurch 7 percent
Increase in population
Tauranga 25 percent
Auckland 9 percent
Dunedin 7 percent
Hamilton 4 percent
Porirua 4 percent
Christchurch 3 percent
Hutt 2 percent
Wellington 1 percent
Infrastructure failing to keep up with demand
Tauranga 17 percent
Dunedin 9 percent
Auckland 7 percent
Hamilton 5 percent
Porirua 5 percent
Wellington 5 percent
Christchurch 2 percent
Hutt 2 percent
Homelessness
Wellington 44 percent
Tauranga 20 percent
Hamilton 19 percent
Hutt 16 percent
Dunedin 13 percent
Auckland 11 percent
Christchurch 9 percent
Porirua 7 percent
Crime rate increased
Hamilton 33 percent
Porirua 22 percent
Auckland 16 percent
Hutt 14 percent
Christchurch 12 percent
Tauranga 2 percent
Wellington 1 percent
Dunedin 0 percent
Lack of maintenance
Auckland 14 percent
Hutt 8 percent
Porirua 6 percent
Christchurch 6 percent
Dunedin 6 percent
Hamilton 5 percent
Wellington 2 percent
Tauranga 2 percent
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