Ōtepoti Dunedin has emerged as the standout city for quality of life in New Zealand, according to the latest biennial survey, which involved more than 6,000 residents across eight major centres.
According to a report by Erin Johnson of Stuff, despite having the coldest climate among the surveyed cities, areas vulnerable to flooding, and a median adult income at just 80% of the national average, Dunedin recorded the highest proportion of residents who rated their quality of life positively. In the 2024 survey, 83% of Dunedin respondents described their quality of life as good to extremely good, compared with 77% across all participating cities.
One of Dunedin’s strongest advocates is Dr Ian Griffin, director of Tūhura Otago Museum, who recently spoke to Stuffafter spending the early hours of Thursday watching an aurora at Hoopers Inlet on the Otago Peninsula.
“I must have spent the best part of 500 to 700 nights looking at aurora,” Stuff has quoted.
An astronomer by training, Griffin moved to Dunedin from Oxford in the United Kingdom 12 years ago to take up his role at the museum and says he quickly “fell in love with the place”. He credits the city’s comparatively affordable housing, dramatic natural landscape, abundant wildlife, strong schooling system, and the presence of a leading university for its appeal. Students, he said, add a distinct energy to the city. “You notice it when they’re gone. From November to February, the place gets quieter,” as quoted by Stuff.
Griffin also highlighted Dunedin’s cultural depth, pointing to institutions such as Tūhura Otago Museum, the Hocken Collections, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. “For a city of 100,000 people, we’ve got an incredibly rich cultural scene,” as reported by Erin Johnson of Stuff.
The city’s digital infrastructure has also played a role. Dunedin won the Gigatown competition in 2014, bringing one gigabit-per-second broadband to the city. “If you are starting a company or want to work remotely, then Dunedin’s the place to be,” Griffin said.
That connectivity was recently on display when Dunedin-based Animation Research, founded by Sir Ian Taylor, produced live graphics for the 2025 Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia.
“The whole world was watching our graphics as Rory McIlroy won that amazing event, and we were doing it from Dunedin,” Taylor said. “I don’t think I could have started this business anywhere else but Dunedin because of the connections with the university and the TV industry,” Stuff has reported.
Taylor said lifestyle factors were central to the city’s appeal. “Even though people think of it being cold and dark, yesterday the beach was full of people surfing. Waves were breaking right up to the waterfront where I was sitting having pizza with other people,” Stuff has quoted.
Former Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins also pointed to the city’s accessibility, food and drink culture, and strong local pride, while cautioning against complacency. “But with anything like this, you can never rest on your laurels.”
Hawkins stressed the importance of community infrastructure such as skate parks, swimming pools and public art, which he said were vital but vulnerable during tough economic periods. “That’s something we need to be mindful of in the longer term.”
While the results were largely positive, the survey found that 6% of Dunedin respondents reported a poor to extremely poor quality of life, slightly below the overall average of 8%.
“We need to remind ourselves that while we are comfortable, there are more people that aren’t,” Taylor said, as quoted by Stuff.
The survey included 6,194 participants from Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Hutt City, Porirua, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, with 581 respondents from Dunedin, Stuff has reported.