Suburb housing

Housing costs across Gisborne

Quick answer Across the 27 areas published in Gisborne, the median weekly rent in the 2023 Census was $330, ranging from $149 to $515 depending on the area. The median household income was $80,200.

Gisborne is one of the smallest and most isolated regions, with horticulture, forestry and food processing as its main employers and a young population by national standards. Housing is inexpensive in absolute terms and expensive relative to local incomes, which is the combination that produces genuine housing stress.

Cyclone Gabrielle struck this region weeks before the March 2023 Census, and the figures for some areas reflect households that had been displaced. The affordability picture here is best read from the relationship between rent and income rather than from either alone.

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Every area in

Median weekly rent paid by renting households in the 2023 Census. Areas with fewer than 100 households, or with no figure published, are not listed: a Census figure for a very small area carries more random rounding than meaning.

AreaDistrictMedian rent Owned or in trustHouseholds
Centennial Crescent Gisborne District $300 49% 540
East Cape Gisborne District $150 62% 486
Elgin Gisborne District $250 48% 852
Gisborne Central Gisborne District $330 52% 216
Hangaroa Gisborne District $240 61% 519
Hexton Gisborne District $375 80% 1,119
Kaiti North Gisborne District $400 74% 729
Kaiti South Gisborne District $286 49% 960
Lytton Gisborne District $480 94% 600
Makaraka-Awapuni Gisborne District $320 59% 357
Mangapapa East Gisborne District $400 70% 477
Mangapapa North Gisborne District $400 68% 495
Mangapapa South Gisborne District $355 56% 648
Outer Kaiti Gisborne District $250 43% 738
Riverdale Gisborne District $370 76% 492
Ruatōria-Raukumara Gisborne District $149 54% 414
Tamarau Gisborne District $300 51% 753
Te Arai Gisborne District $320 71% 414
Te Hapara East Gisborne District $380 54% 810
Te Hapara North Gisborne District $410 65% 735
Te Hapara South Gisborne District $360 50% 798
Tokomaru Gisborne District $175 59% 369
Wainui-Okitu Gisborne District $515 80% 714
Waipaoa Gisborne District $200 63% 702
Wharekaka Gisborne District $250 58% 663
Whataupoko East Gisborne District $480 82% 708
Whataupoko West Gisborne District $430 68% 819

Where these numbers come from

Stats NZ 2023 Census household tables by statistical area 2, with 2013 and 2018 for comparison, used with attribution. Counts are randomly rounded to base three, and rent and income are measured over different households and must not be divided into each other: how to read this data covers the five rules in full.