1. Zone definitions
Auckland does not have a single official five-zone geography that consistently defines North, West, Central, East and South. For the purposes of this analysis, the site groups Auckland Council’s 21 local board areas into five fixed zones:
| Zone | Local board areas included |
|---|---|
| North Auckland | Rodney · Hibiscus and Bays · Upper Harbour · Kaipātiki · Devonport-Takapuna |
| West Auckland | Henderson-Massey · Waitākere Ranges · Whau |
| Central Auckland | Waitematā · Albert-Eden · Ōrākei · Puketāpapa · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki · Waiheke · Aotea / Great Barrier |
| East Auckland | Howick |
| South Auckland | Māngere-Ōtāhuhu · Ōtara-Papatoetoe · Manurewa · Papakura · Franklin |
Classification choices For consistency across this site, the following classification choices are applied: Rodney, a largely rural board, is grouped with North; Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, sometimes described as east Auckland, is grouped with Central; the Hauraki Gulf island boards (Waiheke, Aotea / Great Barrier) are grouped with Central. Comparisons with other publications that group boards differently may not match.
2. Aggregation rules
Counts (population, schools, parks, victimisations, boardings) are summed across a zone's local board areas.
Medians Zone-level median indicators are approximated from the published medians of their component areas because unit-record data is not available. The weighting basis depends on the indicator: population is used for demographic indicators, while rental estimates are weighted by the number of bonds. Each zone page identifies the method used.
Percentages are recomputed from summed numerators and denominators, not averaged.
3. Derived indicators
| Indicator | Formula | Inputs |
|---|---|---|
| Rent-to-income ratio | (median weekly bond rent × 52) ÷ median household income | MBIE Tenancy Services bond rent (latest complete quarter); Stats NZ 2023 Census income |
| Victimisations per 1,000 | victimisations ÷ estimated population × 1,000 | NZ Police; Stats NZ population estimates |
| Population growth | ((census year B − census year A) ÷ census year A) × 100 | Stats NZ Censuses |
| Roll-weighted EQI | Σ(school EQI × school roll) ÷ Σ(school roll) | Education Counts School Directory (intermediate & secondary; primary reported separately) |
Bond-based rent (MBIE Tenancy Services).
Rent figures on the zone pages and home page come from rental bond data published at Statistical Area 2 (SA2) level. SA2 areas are assigned to local boards using the Stats NZ Geographic Areas File 2023 concordance and the mapping method documented in this project. A zone's median for a given bedroom count is approximated as the bond-count-weighted mean of its SA2 medians, since unit-record bonds are not public — consistent with the population-weighting used elsewhere. Three caveats are stated wherever these figures appear: (1) bond data reflects newly lodged bonds — a flow of new tenancies, not the stock of all current rentals — and therefore tends to sit above census self-reported rent; (2) the most recent, still-incomplete quarter is excluded and the latest complete quarter is used; (3) a zone's “overall” median mixes all dwelling types and is influenced by its housing stock (for example, Central Auckland's many CBD apartments pull its overall figure down), so cross-zone comparisons are made within a single bedroom count.
Recorded victimisations
Victimisation figures on this site are aggregated from NZ Police station-level records (policedata.nz): each police station catchment is assigned to one of the five zones, and zone rates are calculated as assigned victimisations ÷ estimated zone population (Stats NZ, June 2025) × 1,000. Station catchments do not match zone boundaries exactly, so zone figures are an approximation; a small number of stations outside the Auckland zones (for example Tuakau and Mangawhai) are excluded from zone and region totals. Recorded victimisations reflect incidents recorded by NZ Police and do not represent all offending. Reporting behaviour, Police recording practices, privacy exclusions and changes in data collection may affect comparisons. These limitations are stated wherever the measure is used.
4. Star ratings
Weighted stop density (site indicator). Where zone pages or articles cite "weighted stop density", train stations and ferry terminals are weighted 5× a bus stop, per 10,000 residents. Stop counts measure coverage, not service frequency.
Transport geography note. Auckland Transport publishes stop locations (5,669 bus stops, 43 train stations after de-duplicating platforms, 28 ferry terminals) with coordinates but no local board field. Each stop is assigned to a local board by taking the board of the nearest of ~2,000 board-labelled Auckland Council park-asset points (median distance 328 m).
This is an approximation — stops very close to a board boundary may occasionally be assigned to a neighbouring board — and passes sense checks such as zero rail stations north of the harbour.
5. Sources, vintages & update policy
| Source | Data used | Update cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Stats NZ — Aotearoa Data Explorer | Census 2006–2023; population estimates | Census 5-yearly; estimates annually |
| MBIE Tenancy Services | Rental bond medians by Statistical Area 2 (SA2), dwelling type & bedroom count (CC BY 3.0 NZ) | Quarterly; this site uses the latest complete quarter |
| NZ Police (policedata.nz) | Victimisation time & place data | Monthly; this site refreshes quarterly |
| Ministry of Education (Education Counts) | School directory, rolls, EQI | Annually |
| Auckland Transport | Bus stop, train station & ferry terminal locations (open data) | As published; this site refreshes with major network changes |
| Auckland Council Open Data | Parks, reserves, playgrounds, facilities | As published |
6. Reuse & citation
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Suggested attribution
Auckland Living Intelligence, Alpha Projects Limited, “[page or dataset title]”, accessed [date], licensed under CC BY 4.0. Based on data from the source agencies identified on the page.