The 207,600 people who live in North Shore City make up five percent of the country's total population and are, on average, wealthier, better educated and more likely to be in employment than New Zealanders as a whole.
A profile of the city's population
- The city has a greater than average proportion of working age people. Eleven percent of the city's population is aged 65 and over compared to over 12 percent of New Zealand as a whole while 20.7 percent are under 15 compared to 22.7 percent for the whole country. The median age is 35.4.
- Almost 47 percent of all households in the city are made up of couples with children, compared to 42.1 percent nationally.
- Almost 73 percent of households are made up of a single family, compared to 69.1 percent nationally.
- Home ownership is slightly more prevalent in North Shore City, at 70 percent compared to 68.8 nationally. This may reflect the fact that North Shore people are more likely to be employed and are on average better paid.
- Unemployment in the city is 4 percent compared to 4.8 for New Zealand as a whole.
- In 2001 North Shore City residents had the country's second highest median annual personal income ($23,300 compared to $18,500 for New Zealanders as a whole).
- City residents also perform extremely well in terms of educational achievement. Almost 38 percent have a tertiary qualification, compared to 32 percent nationally. And while almost 28 percent of all New Zealanders over 15 have no formal qualifications, in North Shore City this is only 16.3 percent.
- Access to, and acceptance of, new technologies is high in the city; 53 percent of North Shore households have access to the Internet, compared to 37.4 percent nationally.
- North Shore City enjoys increasing ethnic diversity. While those who define themselves as being from the "European" ethnic group still form a majority (81.8 percent) the most common language now spoken after English is Korean.
North Shore City Council provides a wealth of demographic and statistical information about the area and its people. Particularly useful are:
North Shore City population and other statistics, which includes Statistics New Zealand: North Shore City Quarterly Review and North Shore City Census 2001 and fact sheets on individual suburbs.
You will also find plenty of valuable information by visiting The Quality of Life in the Big Cities of New Zealand. This project compares life in New Zealand's six largest cities in terms of demographics, housing, community health and safety, education, employment and the economy as well as other social and political issues.
More information:
StatisticsNZ
