Highest Major Cities in New Zealand

Cities in New Zealand with more than 15,000 inhabitants, ranked by elevation above sea level (GeoNames digital elevation model).

📅 2026📏 metres50 entries🇳🇿 See all of this country’s rankings →

All entries · 50

100 metres200 metres300 metres400 metres

Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (metres); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.

Taupo27,000 people · Waikato Region

405 m

Rotorua65,901 people · Bay of Plenty

287 m

Karori15,380 people · Wellington Region

184 m

Titirangi15,490 people · Auckland

162 m

Pukekohe East21,438 people · Auckland

115 m

Ashburton21,600 people · Canterbury

106 m

Masterton28,900 people · Wellington Region

103 m

Mount Eden15,650 people · Auckland

100 m

Wainuiomata20,450 people · Wellington Region

93 m

Remuera27,810 people · Auckland

88 m

Epsom20,200 people · Auckland

79 m

Paraparaumu29,900 people · Wellington Region

77 m

Cambridge15,192 people · Waikato Region

67 m

New Plymouth90,100 people · Taranaki Region

64 m

Rolleston34,100 people · Canterbury

60 m

Upper Hutt47,400 people · Wellington Region

60 m

Porirua61,500 people · Wellington Region

58 m

Massey East22,210 people · Auckland

46 m

Te Atatu South17,240 people · Auckland

44 m

Auckland1,547,200 people · Auckland

43 m

Hamilton East15,300 people · Waikato Region

43 m

Manukau City362,000 people · Auckland

43 m

Avondale26,450 people · Auckland

41 m

Massey22,210 people · Auckland

41 m

Hamilton192,100 people · Waikato Region

39 m

Levin19,789 people · Manawatu-Wanganui

38 m

Manurewa40,820 people · Auckland

38 m

Rangiora19,300 people · Canterbury

36 m

Palmerston North90,500 people · Manawatu-Wanganui

34 m

Stoke20,260 people · Nelson Region

31 m

Wellington381,900 people · Wellington Region

31 m

North Shore258,697 people · Auckland

30 m

Te Atatu Peninsula15,200 people · Auckland

25 m

Takanini17,060 people · Auckland

24 m

Dunedin132,800 people · Otago

21 m

Mangere East28,540 people · Auckland

21 m

New Lynn23,800 people · Auckland

21 m

Hastings88,300 people · Hawke's Bay Region

19 m

Papatoetoe56,010 people · Auckland

19 m

Tauranga161,000 people · Bay of Plenty

18 m

Whanganui49,200 people · Manawatu-Wanganui

18 m

Otahuhu17,780 people · Auckland

17 m

Mangere23,310 people · Auckland

15 m

Christchurch419,200 people · Canterbury

14 m

Papakura37,720 people · Auckland

14 m

Timaru29,300 people · Canterbury

14 m

Henderson18,770 people · Auckland

13 m

Lincoln17,240 people · Auckland

11 m

Nelson54,400 people · Nelson Region

11 m

Whakatane18,602 people · Bay of Plenty

11 m

Highlights

Within New Zealand, Taupo ranks first in 2026 with 405 m, followed by Rotorua (287 m) and Karori (184 m).

Across 50 entries, values run from 405 m (Taupo) to 11 m (Whakatane), with a median of 39 m.

Source: GeoNames, cities with more than 15,000 inhabitants, 2026. Unit: metres.

Source: GeoNames, cities with more than 15,000 inhabitants · CC BY 4.0 (GeoNames) · fetched Oct 17, 2026 — Elevation is the GeoNames digital elevation model value at the populated place coordinates; population figures are shown for context.

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