Housing costs across Otago
Quick answer
Across the 127 areas published in Otago,
the median weekly rent in the 2023 Census was $400,
ranging from $150 to $710 depending on
the area. The median household income was $89,000.
Otago contains two housing markets with almost nothing in common. Dunedin is a university city where a large student population rents in a concentrated ring of suburbs, keeping ownership rates low and rents oddly structured. Queenstown Lakes is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, driven by international tourism and holiday homes, with a resident workforce that struggles to live where it works.
Student areas and resort areas both produce figures that look like housing stress and mean different things. In Dunedin a very low ownership rate near the campus is students renting, not a settled population locked out of buying. In Queenstown and Wanaka a high rent with a modest median income is exactly what it appears to be.
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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.
| Area | District | Median rent | Owned or in trust | Households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | Dunedin City | $360 | 86% | 1,107 |
| Albert Town | Queenstown-Lakes District | $574 | 75% | 771 |
| Alexandra North | Central Otago District | $350 | 74% | 1,227 |
| Alexandra South | Central Otago District | $400 | 81% | 1,173 |
| Andersons Bay | Dunedin City | $444 | 76% | 906 |
| Arrowtown | Queenstown-Lakes District | $600 | 69% | 1,068 |
| Arthur Street | Dunedin City | $430 | 31% | 576 |
| Arthurs Point | Queenstown-Lakes District | $624 | 69% | 423 |
| Balclutha North | Clutha District | $330 | 77% | 702 |
| Balclutha South | Clutha District | $300 | 70% | 1,068 |
| Belleknowes | Dunedin City | $490 | 76% | 846 |
| Benhar-Stirling | Clutha District | $300 | 87% | 180 |
| Brighton | Dunedin City | $408 | 84% | 609 |
| Broad Bay-Portobello | Dunedin City | $387 | 85% | 504 |
| Brockville | Dunedin City | $172 | 65% | 879 |
| Bruce | Clutha District | $250 | 82% | 885 |
| Bucklands Crossing | Dunedin City | $344 | 84% | 693 |
| Bush Road | Dunedin City | $358 | 77% | 1,023 |
| Calton Hill | Dunedin City | $300 | 67% | 576 |
| Campus North | Dunedin City | $573 | 3% | 357 |
| Campus South | Dunedin City | $652 | 3% | 450 |
| Campus West | Dunedin City | $459 | 6% | 411 |
| Cardrona | Queenstown-Lakes District | $300 | 79% | 312 |
| Catlins | Clutha District | $250 | 78% | 585 |
| Caversham | Dunedin City | $346 | 58% | 1,041 |
| Clinton | Clutha District | $172 | 58% | 462 |
| Clutha Valley | Clutha District | $200 | 58% | 561 |
| Clyde | Central Otago District | $400 | 77% | 507 |
| Concord | Dunedin City | $202 | 74% | 561 |
| Corstorphine | Dunedin City | $204 | 57% | 792 |
| Cromwell East | Central Otago District | $495 | 67% | 1,197 |
| Cromwell West | Central Otago District | $475 | 70% | 1,383 |
| Dunedin Central | Dunedin City | $450 | 14% | 684 |
| Dunstan-Galloway | Central Otago District | $300 | 90% | 735 |
| Earnscleugh | Central Otago District | $150 | 81% | 282 |
| East Taieri | Dunedin City | $480 | 92% | 894 |
| Fairfield (Dunedin City) | Dunedin City | $464 | 89% | 936 |
| Fernhill | Dunedin City | $330 | 29% | 675 |
| Forbury | Dunedin City | $380 | 63% | 528 |
| Frankton | Queenstown-Lakes District | $545 | 45% | 1,209 |
| Frankton Arm | Queenstown-Lakes District | $630 | 42% | 570 |
| Gardens (Dunedin City) | Dunedin City | $600 | 4% | 906 |
| Glen Warren | Waitaki District | $300 | 68% | 762 |
| Glenleith | Dunedin City | $460 | 73% | 483 |
| Glenorchy | Queenstown-Lakes District | $400 | 63% | 225 |
| Green Island | Dunedin City | $366 | 76% | 981 |
| Halfway Bush | Dunedin City | $390 | 76% | 666 |
| Helensburgh | Dunedin City | $466 | 80% | 456 |
| Holmes Hill | Waitaki District | $350 | 84% | 633 |
| Jacks Point | Queenstown-Lakes District | $700 | 59% | 1,182 |
| Kaikorai-Bradford | Dunedin City | $392 | 72% | 444 |
| Kaitangata-Matau | Clutha District | $200 | 74% | 456 |
| Kelvin Heights | Queenstown-Lakes District | $650 | 74% | 408 |
| Kenmure | Dunedin City | $450 | 79% | 774 |
| Kew (Dunedin City) | Dunedin City | $440 | 75% | 690 |
| Kingston | Queenstown-Lakes District | $402 | 67% | 189 |
| Lake Hayes | Queenstown-Lakes District | $500 | 82% | 150 |
| Lake Hayes Estate | Queenstown-Lakes District | $710 | 69% | 750 |
| Lake Hāwea | Queenstown-Lakes District | $526 | 75% | 726 |
| Lindis-Nevis Valleys | Central Otago District | $400 | 83% | 1,173 |
| Lower Waitaki | Waitaki District | $248 | 78% | 585 |
| Macandrew Bay-Company Bay | Dunedin City | $440 | 87% | 651 |
| Maheno | Waitaki District | $300 | 88% | 849 |
| Maniototo | Central Otago District | $154 | 70% | 762 |
| Manuherikia-Ida Valleys | Central Otago District | $200 | 75% | 531 |
| Maori Hill | Dunedin City | $510 | 77% | 915 |
| Maryhill | Dunedin City | $450 | 74% | 882 |
| Milton | Clutha District | $280 | 73% | 885 |
| Momona | Dunedin City | $300 | 79% | 963 |
| Mornington | Dunedin City | $400 | 63% | 1,149 |
| Mosgiel Central | Dunedin City | $370 | 68% | 1,266 |
| Mosgiel East | Dunedin City | $400 | 86% | 1,344 |
| Mount Cargill | Dunedin City | $300 | 88% | 885 |
| Musselburgh | Dunedin City | $395 | 72% | 606 |
| Ngapara | Waitaki District | $200 | 55% | 675 |
| Normanby (Dunedin City) | Dunedin City | $393 | 74% | 525 |
| North East Valley Chingford | Dunedin City | $400 | 61% | 621 |
| North East Valley Knox | Dunedin City | $440 | 34% | 717 |
| Northlake | Queenstown-Lakes District | $660 | 62% | 393 |
| Oamaru Central | Waitaki District | $206 | 37% | 129 |
| Oamaru Gardens | Waitaki District | $326 | 80% | 510 |
| Oamaru North Milner Park | Waitaki District | $304 | 69% | 984 |
| Oamaru North Orana Park | Waitaki District | $310 | 69% | 1,209 |
| Opoho | Dunedin City | $422 | 72% | 474 |
| Otago Peninsula | Dunedin City | $240 | 84% | 402 |
| Outer Wakatipu | Queenstown-Lakes District | $485 | 80% | 213 |
| Outer Wānaka | Queenstown-Lakes District | $300 | 78% | 162 |
| Palmerston | Waitaki District | $250 | 79% | 468 |
| Pine Hill-Dalmore | Dunedin City | $350 | 65% | 882 |
| Port Chalmers | Dunedin City | $300 | 76% | 633 |
| Quail Rise | Queenstown-Lakes District | $650 | 79% | 243 |
| Queenstown Central | Queenstown-Lakes District | $500 | 21% | 201 |
| Queenstown East | Queenstown-Lakes District | $600 | 38% | 378 |
| Ravensbourne-St Leonards | Dunedin City | $432 | 83% | 774 |
| Roseneath-Sawyers Bay | Dunedin City | $300 | 85% | 627 |
| Roslyn (Dunedin City) | Dunedin City | $450 | 67% | 1,125 |
| Royal Terrace | Dunedin City | $440 | 16% | 534 |
| Saddle Hill-Chain Hills | Dunedin City | $510 | 93% | 462 |
| Seddon Park | Dunedin City | $220 | 66% | 1,332 |
| Shiel Hill | Dunedin City | $520 | 84% | 651 |
| Shotover Country | Queenstown-Lakes District | $700 | 60% | 1,209 |
| South Dunedin | Dunedin City | $265 | 44% | 1,257 |
| South Hill | Waitaki District | $346 | 73% | 984 |
| St Clair | Dunedin City | $500 | 78% | 900 |
| St Kilda North | Dunedin City | $380 | 61% | 1,104 |
| St Kilda South | Dunedin City | $382 | 64% | 1,212 |
| Strath Taieri | Dunedin City | $200 | 66% | 279 |
| Sunshine Bay-Fernhill | Queenstown-Lakes District | $624 | 51% | 1,026 |
| Taieri | Dunedin City | $450 | 90% | 555 |
| Tainui | Dunedin City | $430 | 80% | 789 |
| Teviot Valley | Central Otago District | $270 | 75% | 756 |
| Tuapeka | Clutha District | $200 | 78% | 522 |
| Upper Clutha Valley | Queenstown-Lakes District | $400 | 79% | 555 |
| Waihemo | Waitaki District | $270 | 77% | 639 |
| Waikouaiti | Dunedin City | $278 | 86% | 564 |
| Wakari | Dunedin City | $350 | 66% | 1,731 |
| Wakatipu Basin | Queenstown-Lakes District | $650 | 82% | 507 |
| Waldronville | Dunedin City | $486 | 92% | 471 |
| Warren Park | Queenstown-Lakes District | $550 | 21% | 387 |
| Waverley (Dunedin City) | Dunedin City | $500 | 83% | 1,041 |
| West Otago | Clutha District | $190 | 68% | 906 |
| Weston | Waitaki District | $367 | 90% | 468 |
| Wingatui | Dunedin City | $545 | 90% | 336 |
| Wānaka Central | Queenstown-Lakes District | $560 | 71% | 621 |
| Wānaka North | Queenstown-Lakes District | $620 | 69% | 1,050 |
| Wānaka Waterfront | Queenstown-Lakes District | $560 | 69% | 825 |
| Wānaka West | Queenstown-Lakes District | $615 | 72% | 780 |
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.