The population of the Queenstown Lakes District has increased 23% to 28,224 since the last census in 2006. This is the second-fastest growth rate in New Zealand and continues the pattern of growth set between 2001-2006.

Mayor Vanessa van Uden said that the figures “simply reinforce what we already know - Queenstown remains a highly desirable place to live and visit, and therefore all of the Council's planning must factor in the impacts of high growth.”

Ms van Uden said some of the impacts were highly positive such as greater economic growth; an increased rating base which will help minimise ratepayer costs; and increased property values for existing homeowners.

Against that were things such as increasing difficulty for families wanting to buy their first home and greater demands on core infrastructure.

“We’ll be starting to update our Long Term Plan in 2014, and understanding both the scale and locations of our population growth will be critical to ensuring that capital expenditure and operational priorities within Plan reflect these growth changes.”

Click here to view the 2013 Census Usually Resident Population Counts

By: QLDC