How’s life in Christchurch?
Christchurch City Council Newsline: 5th February 2025
The latest Quality of Life survey shows that 80 percent of residents are enjoying life in Christchurch.
The biennial Quality of Life survey questioned 6994 New Zealanders about their perceptions of life in our main urban areas – Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Hutt City, Porirua, Tauranga and Wellington. The results are released nationally. The latest survey was conducted in 2024 but the results were delayed slightly to account for new Census data.
Christchurch's results this year come from 524 respondents. The rating for quality of life was broadly similar to the 2022 result (80% compared to 81% in 2022) and slightly higher than the big cities average of 77 percent. Most other cities saw a larger drop in quality of life between 2022 and 2024.
Slightly more than a quarter (26%) said their quality of life had increased compared to 12 months ago, up from 19 percent in 2022, and again very similar to the big cities average of 25 percent.
“Personal and social factors are the main reasons that Christchurch people are citing as responsible for their positive sense of wellbeing. That includes good physical and mental health, relationships and support networks, and lifestyle,” says Kath Jamieson, Team Leader Monitoring and Research at Christchurch City Council.
“Those who said their quality of life had decreased in the last couple of years – 30 percent down from 34 percent – mainly cited issues like financial wellbeing and work issues, alongside reduced health and wellbeing. Of those in work, 64 percent are satisfied with their work life balance, higher than the big cities average of 59 percent.”
Other notable findings include:
- Life in the city: Christchurch is considered a great place to live by 77% of people, who cited the central city coming back to life and the many things to do, as well as access to recreational facilities. Those who thought the city had become a worse place to live cited concerns about rising crime and roading developments.
- Economic wellbeing: The proportion of people saying they had enough money to meet their everyday needs has dropped from 46% in 2022 to 35%, with just 54% saying they have enough set aside to cover a large, unexpected bill.
- Transport: Use of public transport (17%) has seen a big jump from 2022 (8%), but this rate is still very low compared to the big cities average. Although perception of public transport is positive – 61% saying it's easy to get to, and 64% calling it affordable – it hasn't translated into use. Just 40% see public transport as a viable alternative to driving.
- Climate: Some saw a range of environmental and climate-related issues as problems for Christchurch: coastal erosion (54%), flooding (51%), landslips (30%), droughts and water supply issues (42%), and increased heat and fire risk (69%). However, the trend of declining concern about the impacts of climate change continued, with 29% saying they were worried or very worried, down significantly from 41% in 2022. This trend was also apparent in other cities.
- Health: While 28% said they experienced stress most or all of the time, more than 80% said they had someone to turn to for support. However, rates of support have declined since 2022, and only 40% of people reported feeling a sense of community with others in their neighbourhood, down from 48% in 2022 but similar to the big cities average of 42%. The proportion seeing racism or discrimination as an issue in Christchurch (61%) has fallen since 2022 (71%).
- Confidence in the Council: Confidence remained low but has improved, with 38% saying they have confidence the Council makes decisions in the best interests of the city, up significantly from 29% in 2022 and much higher than the big cities average of 30%.
Read the full Quality of Life survey results.