TopSpots: Healthiest Places
This is the first of a series of TopSpots reports commissioned exclusively for iwantahome.co.nz, which aims to shed new light on the lifestyle attributes and social makeup of New Zealand’s towns and cities so that homebuyers can find out which places may be best for them.
For this first report, 17 of New Zealand’s largest cities, districts and District Health Boards were analysed in depth, against a variety of diverse criteria, to establish which places have the rudest health and the ruddiest complexions.
The complete list of places we analysed:
| Places | Population |
| Auckland City | 404,658 |
| Christchurch City | 348,435 |
| Manuaku City | 328,968 |
| North Shore City | 205,605 |
| Waitakere City | 186,447 |
| Wellington City | 179,466 |
| Hamilton City | 129,249 |
| Dunedin City | 118,683 |
| Tauranga District | 103,632 |
| Lower Hutt City | 97,701 |
| Rodney District | 89,562 |
| Palmerston North City | 75,543 |
| Napier City | 55,359 |
| Invercargil City | 50,325 |
| Porirua City | 48,546 |
| Nelson City | 42,888 |
| Upper Hutt City | 38,415 |
And the winner is.....
Rodney District
Stretching from Kumeu in the south to Wellsford in the north – Rodney District has been identified as New Zealand’s healthiest place to live. Here is the top 10 places in descending order:
Top 10 Healthiest Places in New Zealand
- Rodney District
- Wellington City
- North Shore City
- Christchurch City
- Dunedin City
- Nelson City
- Porirua City
- Auckland City
- Lower Hutt City
- Upper Hutt City
The researchers awarded or deducted points based on 12 factors:
- Life expectancy
- Smoking
- GPs per capita
- Unemployment levels
- Air pollution perception
- Physical activity
- Sedentary behaviour
- Fruit and vegetable intake
- Alcohol consumption
- Negative stress levels
- Own health rating
- Body size
Rodney and second placed Wellington were clear leaders throughout the study but Rodney was in a league of its own in the final points analysis.
Rodney District - How Did it Score?
(including Helensville, Kumeu/Huapai, Whangaparaoa, Matakana, Orewa, Warkworth and Wellsford).
Rodney’s results were strong against most of the health criteria we measured.
It came second in the overall life expectancy stakes with an average age of 80.5 years for men and women.
Smokers account for only 16% (the third lowest) of the adult population compared to the national average of 19%.
91% of residents rated their own health as good, very good or excellent, which was the third highest.
Rodney came out first in terms of residents’ frequency of doing physical activity, with 62% saying they participated on at least five days a week, just ahead of Invercargill, Dunedin and Nelson on 61%.
All of that physical activity must be starting to pay dividends because another high scoring area was healthy body weight. Along with Waitemata District Health Board neighbours Auckland, North Shore and Waitakere, Rodney District had the best BMI (Body Mass Index) scores.
Another area where Rodney was top of the table was its residents’ exposure to negative stress. 49% said that they rarely or never experienced negative stress which was the highest number recorded.
Rodney isn’t perfect however. It had the highest unemployment rate of all of the places we analysed. It also came last for the number of General Practitioners available - only 48.2 per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 71.3. Maybe the doctors have realised that this healthiest of places is unlikely to be good for business.
Highlights from the Others:
North Shore City is the place to live if you want to live longest (an average of 81.4 years). Perhaps not surprisingly it also has the lowest percentage of regular smokers at just 14% compared with worst performer Invercargill’s 22.6%.
North Shore may have the longest lives but it’s apparently not because of their fitness regimes or lack of worries. It rates a clear last in terms of residents’ lowest physical activity and highest negative stress levels. Go figure.
Wellington is another place where residents can expect to make it into their 80’s and has a correspondingly low number of smokers. Wellingtonians also feel good, with 92% of them saying they were in good, very good or excellent health.
The only place with a more positive score than Wellington for self-health assessment, was neighbouring Porirua, which also recorded the second lowest stress levels. Unfortunately the life expectancy of Porirua (76.5 years) doesn’t bear out such optimism, only Invercargill is lower.
Christchurch is another high health scorer. And, if you’re going to get sick, this is the best city to do it; the place is practically crawling with doctors (95 per 100,000 population). Unfortunately, two thirds of its residents think air pollution is a real problem – in fact no other city in New Zealand comes close.
Snapshots:
| Best | Worst | |
| Life expectancy | North Shore City | Invercargill City |
| Smoking | North Shore City | Invercargill City |
| GPs per capita | Christchurch City | Rodney District |
| Unemployment levels | North Shore City | Rodney District |
| Air pollution perception | Porirua City | Christchurch City |
| Physical activity | Rodney District | North Shore City |
| Sedentary behaviour | Napier City | Auckland City |
| Fruit & vegetable intake | Dunedin City | Manukau City |
| Invercargill City | ||
| Nelson City | ||
| Alcohol consumption | Manukau City | Napier City |
| Negative stress levels | Rodney District | North Shore City |
| Own health rating | Porirua City | Waitakere City |
| Body size | Rodney District | Manuaku City |
| North Shore City | ||
| Waitakere City |
All About Rodney
Rodney is the northernmost district in the Auckland region and covers an area of 2,475 square kilometres; it has over 1,400 kilometres of coastline.
It's population is just under 90,000, making it bigger than Palmerston North, but smaller than Lower Hutt. Between the 2001 and 2006 Census the population grew by almost 18%, which was faster than anywhere else in New Zealand, other than Queenstown and Selwyn District in the South Island.
Its popularity as a place to live can be put down to a number of things.
With the growth and expansion of the Auckland region there has been a subsequent growth in the Rodney District as people choose to move away from the hustle and bustle of the city. However, the closeness to Auckland makes it attractive to many for the easy commuting distance to major employers. It's also very popular as a place to retire and live a healthy, long life.
The population is slightly older than New Zealand in general, with a higher percentage being 40+ and a lower representation in the 15-34 age band. It also has a comparatively higher proportion of married couples.
At $521,323, the average price of a home in Rodney is 33% higher than the national average of $391,487, but 9% less than its near neighbour North Shore which has an average price of $573,430. Rodney's house prices have increased by 82% over the last five years and show a price decrease of almost 1% during the last year.
The completion of the Northern Motorway Project in 2009, is likely to add further to the area's popularity for Auckland commuters and impact positively upon house prices.
| People | Rodney | New Zealand |
| Population | 89,559 | 4,027,947 |
| Population density | 36.9 | 14.9 |
| Population change | 17.6% | 7.8% |
| Median age | 39 | 35 |
| Households | 32,908 | 1,454,175 |
| Household size | 2.65 | 2.68 |
| Male population | 49.0% | 48.8% |
| Female population | 51.0% | 51.2% |
| Married population | 56.5% | 48.6% |
| Single population | 26.0% |
34.1% |
| Estimated Total Population By Age | Rodney | New Zealand |
| Age 0 to 4 | 6.3% | 6.9% |
| Age 5 to 9 | 7.3% | 6.9% |
| Age 10 to 14 | 7.7% | 7.2% |
| Age 15 to 19 | 6.9% | 7.6% |
| Age 20 to 24 | 4.0% | 6.9% |
| Age 25 to 29 | 3.7% | 6.3% |
| Age 30 to 34 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| Age 35 to 39 | 7.8% | 7.4% |
| Age 40 to 44 | 8.4% | 7.5% |
| Age 45 to 49 | 8.0% | 7.4% |
| Age 50 to 54 | 6.9% | 6.4% |
| Age 55 to 59 | 6.3% | 5.7% |
| Age 60 to 64 | 5.7% | 4.7% |
| Age 65 to 69 | 4.9% | 3.9% |
| Age 70 to 74 | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| Age 75 to 79 | 3.1% | 2.5% |
| Age 80 to 84 | 2.2% | 1.8% |
| Age 85+ | 1.7% | 1.4% |
| Family | Rodney | New Zealand |
| Percentage of couples with children | 42.8% | 42.0% |
| Percentage of couples without children | 43.7% | 39.9% |
| Single, with children | 13.5% | 18.1% |
| Divorced | 8.2% | 7.6% |
| Separated | 3.4% | 3.7% |
| Widowed | 5.9% | 6.0% |
| Now married | 56.5% | 48.6% |
| Never married | 26.0% | 34.1% |
|
Housing |
Rodney | New Zealand |
| Median home cost | $521,323 | $391,487 |
| Home appreciation | ||
| (1 year) | -0.9% | -4.5% |
| (5 years) | 82.3% | 80.5% |
| Homes owned | 69.5% | 62.7% |
| Homes rented | 24.9% | 31.1% |
All about Rodney: Useful Links:
Sources:
- Statistics New Zealand
- Census data 2001and 2006
- Life Expectancy at birth 2000-2002
- Estimated Subnational Population by age 2007 - Quality of Life Report 2006 Point Research
- A Portrait of Health - New Zealand Health Survey 2006/2007, Ministry of Health
- Medical Council of New Zealand, NZHIS 2001-2005
- QV data August 2008
Our thanks to the various parties who helped and contributed to the data within the report, including:
Statistics New Zealand, Ministry of Health, QV.co.nz, University of Auckland School of Statistics, Auckland City Libraries.
Stephen Hart is the author of the best-selling homebuyer's books, 'Where to live in Auckland' and the 'The Streetwise Homebuyer' and co-presenter of TV2's 'House Call' programme. He also writes a regular homebuyers' column for 'Herald Homes'.
For more about TopSpot reports, click here
Click here, to read the June 2008 ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard which takes the latest quarterly regional statistics and ranks the economic performance of New Zealand's 16 Regional Council areas. Ratings are based on specific measures such as employment, construction, retail trade and house prices.
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The content is considered accurate at the time of the publication, however Barbican Publishing nor ASB cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. Copyright: Barbican Publishing Ltd 2008.
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