A comprehensive list of every New Zealand location is vast and exists as an official dataset maintained by the government, rather than a simple, readable list due to the sheer number of geographic features, suburbs, and localities.
The authoritative source for this information is Toitū Te Whenua – Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).
Accessing the Official List
Wow Great Spot
You can access or download the complete list through the following official channels:
View Online: Use the New Zealand Gazetteer web application to search and view all official and unofficial place names, including cities, towns, suburbs, localities, mountains, rivers, and bays.
Download Data: For a “big list” in a data format (like CSV or GIS formats), you can download the complete dataset from the LINZ Data Service (NZ Place Names layer). This data is comprehensive and includes the name, type of place, and geographic coordinates.
Suburbs and Localities: A specific dataset focusing on community boundaries in urban (suburbs) and rural (localities) areas, including population estimates, is available as the NZ Suburbs and Localities layer.
General List of Major Cities and Towns
While the full official gazetteer is an extensive database, the main urban areas and prominent towns are more commonly listed for general use. These include the main cities:
Best Places
- Auckland
- Wellington
- Christchurch
- Hamilton
- Napier-Hastings
- Tauranga
- Dunedin
- Palmerston North
- Nelson
- Rotorua
- New Plymouth
- Whangārei
- Invercargill
- Whanganui
- Gisborne
Big as list
A comprehensive list of every New Zealand location is vast and exists as an official dataset maintained by the government, rather than a simple, readable list due to the sheer number of geographic features, suburbs, and localities.
The authoritative source for this information is Toitū Te Whenua – Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).
Accessing the Official List
Wow Great Spot
You can access or download the complete list through the following official channels:
View Online: Use the New Zealand Gazetteer web application to search and view all official and unofficial place names, including cities, towns, suburbs, localities, mountains, rivers, and bays.
Download Data: For a “big list” in a data format (like CSV or GIS formats), you can download the complete dataset from the LINZ Data Service (NZ Place Names layer). This data is comprehensive and includes the name, type of place, and geographic coordinates.
Suburbs and Localities: A specific dataset focusing on community boundaries in urban (suburbs) and rural (localities) areas, including population estimates, is available as the NZ Suburbs and Localities layer.
General List of Major Cities and Towns
While the full official gazetteer is an extensive database, the main urban areas and prominent towns are more commonly listed for general use. These include the main cities:
