Global CityIntelligence

New Zealand / Oceania

Wellington City Intelligence

Wellington anchors New Zealand's political and creative life on a compact harbour with strong public services, low-carbon electricity, and active seismic-adaptation work. Wellington is a oceania city of about 0.4M metro in New Zealand. On the composite city-intelligence score, Wellington sits comfortably above the indexed median (84/100).

Last updated
2026-05-16
Data year
2025
Population
0.4M metro
View of Beehive (New Zealand) in Wellington, New Zealand

Beehive (New Zealand)

Image credit: Image: Michal Klajban / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall score

Read Wellington as a compact, services-led capital where service quality and renewable electricity balance seismic and housing pressures.

Overall84/100
Affordability64/100
Air quality88/100
Energy88/100

Overall city intelligence

Strong

84/100

Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.

Energy mix

Low-carbon

Hydropower and geothermal generation support a favorable baseline.

Services depth

High

Public services and creative industries shape opportunity.

Wellington data table

The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.

Wellington city intelligence data table
MetricValueContext
Overall score84/100Composite score across major city intelligence modules.
Cost of Living64/100Wellington is expensive for housing, with services costs in line with New Zealand peers.
Air Quality88/100Wellington performs well on air-quality benchmarks, with coastal winds supporting dispersion.
Energy88/100Wellington benefits from New Zealand's low-carbon electricity baseline with hydropower and geothermal providing most generation.
Safety90/100Wellington scores high on safety, with stable institutional response and steady public-safety perception.
Internet Speed84/100Wellington offers reliable fiber and mobile networks supporting digital services and remote work.
Climate Risk70/100Wellington carries elevated climate risk centered on seismic exposure, coastal storms, and stormwater pressure.
Resilience76/100Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context.

Safety

Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.

Safety

Overall safety80/100
Low crime83/100
Personal safety80/100
Night safety75/100
Road safety78/100

Wellington ranks in the upper tier of our safety index (80/100), with strong personal-safety and low night-time indicators.

Quality of Life

A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.

Quality of Life

Quality of life83/100
Healthcare86/100
Education88/100
Green space77/100
Cleanliness90/100
Infrastructure94/100
Mobility66/100

Wellington has a very high quality-of-life estimate (83/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, green space, cleanliness and infrastructure.

Family Friendliness

How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.

Family Friendliness

Family friendliness82/100
Education88/100
Green space77/100
Overall safety80/100

Wellington scores very high for family living (82/100), helped by education access, safety, parks and green space and healthcare.

Digital Nomad Suitability

Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.

Digital Nomad Suitability

Digital nomad suitability79/100
Walkability67/100
Cycling66/100
Infrastructure94/100

Wellington is high for remote workers (79/100), based on connectivity, affordability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.

Retirement Suitability

Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.

Retirement Suitability

Retirement suitability80/100
Healthcare86/100
Cleanliness90/100
Outdoor lifestyle46/100

Wellington is very high for retirement (80/100), appealing for healthcare access, affordability, a comfortable climate and a clean environment.

Emergency and public safety in Wellington

Local public safety guidance for Wellington, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.

Verified
New Zealand emergency contacts
ServiceNumberNotes
Universal emergency11124/7111 reaches police, fire, and ambulance dispatch across New Zealand.

For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Wellington, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the New Zealand emergency profile.

Public safety sources

Each emergency contact above is attributed to an official emergency service or government publisher. Confirm current numbers directly with these sources.

Last verified: 2026-05-16

Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.

Healthcare and hospitals in Wellington

Healthcare context for Wellington, with national-level information from New Zealand where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.

Verified

For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Wellington, see the New Zealand healthcare profile.

Healthcare sources

Each entry above is attributed to an official government, public health, or recognised health-system publisher. Confirm current information directly with these sources.

Last verified: 2026-05-16

Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.

Transport and mobility in Wellington

Local mobility context for Wellington, with national-level context from New Zealand where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.

Verified

For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Wellington, see the New Zealand transport profile.

Transport sources

Each entry above is attributed to an official transport authority, national operator, airport publisher, or government source. Confirm current information directly with these publishers.

Last verified: 2026-05-16

Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.

Air quality dataset

Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Wellington. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.

Air quality dataset for Wellington

Verified data unavailableLast updated 2026-05-16 / data year 2025

Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location

Source-attributed values for Wellington will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.

Wellington air-quality dataset coverage
MetricValueData yearStatus
Air qualityVerified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location.

Data provenance

Source attribution

  • Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset

    Verified data unavailable
    Publisher
    Global City Intelligence
    Last verified
    2026-05-16

    The air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).

Related comparisons

Pairs that share a city, comparison intent, or region — useful for users planning a wider relocation, remote-work, or business decision.

Wellington in city collections

Curated city collections that include Wellington. Each is a comparison-oriented shortlist, not an official ranking.

Wellington intent guides

Practical intent-focused guides available for Wellington. Each guide is a comparison-oriented view, not an official ranking.

Explore Wellington modules

City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.

Energy in Wellington

Wellington benefits from New Zealand's low-carbon electricity baseline with hydropower and geothermal providing most generation.

Safety in Wellington

Wellington scores high on safety, with stable institutional response and steady public-safety perception.

Climate Risk in Wellington

Wellington carries elevated climate risk centered on seismic exposure, coastal storms, and stormwater pressure.

City rankings

Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.

Cost of living in Wellington

Cost of living estimates for Wellington — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.

Climate in Wellington

Climate profile for Wellington — Oceanic climate, annual average 16.6°C, comfort score 79/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.

Economy and jobs in Wellington

Economy and jobs profile for Wellington — government center, economy score 81/100, key industries including government, technology, research. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.

Universities and education in Wellington

Education profile for Wellington — regional education center, education score 73/100, 4 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.

Healthcare and retirement in Wellington

Healthcare and retirement profile for Wellington — regional healthcare center, healthcare score 74/100, retirement score 71/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.

Arrival planning guide for Wellington

Practical arrival planning context for Wellington — links into transport, public-safety, healthcare, budgeting tools, and methodology. Not an official airport or travel instruction service.

Visual guide to Wellington

Source-attributed visual context for Wellington using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.

Summer 2026 travel planning guide for Wellington

Summer 2026 travel planning checklist for Wellington — links into arrival planning, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not a weather forecast, events calendar, hotel-price guide, or tourism ranking.

Weekend trip planning guide for Wellington

Weekend trip planning checklist for Wellington — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.

Nearby weekend places from Wellington

Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.

Estimate a monthly budget for Wellington

Estimate a monthly budget for Wellington using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.

Plan a trip budget for Wellington

Plan a trip budget for Wellington using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.

Nearby cities from Wellington

Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Wellington. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.

Blenheim, New Zealand

Same region · about 74 km from Wellington. Explore Blenheim's city intelligence profile.

Nelson, New Zealand

Same region · about 129 km from Wellington. Explore Nelson's city intelligence profile.

Napier, New Zealand

Same region · about 269 km from Wellington. Explore Napier's city intelligence profile.

Related collections

Regional discovery collections that include Wellington — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.

Themed collections

Theme-first discovery collections that include Wellington — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.

Interpretation

Read Wellington as a compact, services-led capital where service quality and renewable electricity balance seismic and housing pressures. Its standout dimensions are safety (90/100) and air quality (88/100). The area most worth watching is cost of living (64/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.

Country context is available on the New Zealand country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Wellington appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.

Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.

Sources

4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.