Most Liveable Suburbs — Southland
Top 50 areas by a composite livability index — amenity access, public transport, and schools + hospitals, normalised within New Zealand (method: Urban Liveability Index, Higgs et al. 2019).
Most Liveable Suburbs
Top 50 areas by a composite livability index — amenity access, public transport, and schools + hospitals, normalised within New Zealand (method: Urban Liveability Index, Higgs et al. 2019) — Southland
This ranking works best as a first-pass screen in Southland, especially when you need to reduce a wide field quickly.
A rank is useful because it compresses one dimension well, but it never replaces the fuller suburb-level picture.
Use the ranking to build a shortlist, then confirm whether those finalists still hold up on the rest of the data.
A ranking compresses one signal well, but it should hand you into compare or suburb detail before becoming a decision.
Save a small working set, then use compare and evidence depth before treating any row as a decision.
Rankings are strongest when they hand you a shortlist quickly. Compare the top two first, then open suburb detail if the head-to-head result still feels narrow.
- #1Invercargill CentralSOUTHLAND9497 · 0 · 89
- #2Te ĀnauSOUTHLAND8095 · 0 · 70
- #3ŌtautauSOUTHLAND8080 · 0 · 96
- #4RivertonSOUTHLAND7995 · 0 · 70
- #5WintonSOUTHLAND7283 · 0 · 89
- #6Wyndham-CatlinsSOUTHLAND6946 · 0 · 96
- #7WaikakaSOUTHLAND6723 · 0 · 96
- #8Lumsden-BalfourSOUTHLAND6467 · 0 · 89
- #9Longwood ForestSOUTHLAND6186 · 0 · 70
- #10WindsorSOUTHLAND5782 · 0 · 70
- #11BluffSOUTHLAND5580 · 0 · 70
- #12Gladstone (Invercargill City)SOUTHLAND5423 · 0 · 89
- #13Ōhai-NightcapsSOUTHLAND5379 · 0 · 70
- #14WaikiwiSOUTHLAND4564 · 0 · 70
- #15MossburnSOUTHLAND4360 · 0 · 70
- #16AvenalSOUTHLAND4360 · 0 · 70
- #17Awarua PlainsSOUTHLAND3638 · 0 · 70
- #18Edendale-WoodlandsSOUTHLAND3423 · 0 · 70
- #19StrathernSOUTHLAND2672 · 0 · 32
- #20MatauraSOUTHLAND2467 · 0 · 32
- #21MararoaSOUTHLAND1750 · 0 · 32
- #22OtataraSOUTHLAND1438 · 0 · 32
- #23GeorgetownSOUTHLAND1438 · 0 · 32
- #24West Plains-MakarewaSOUTHLAND1223 · 0 · 32
- #25NewfieldSOUTHLAND1223 · 0 · 32
- #26Appleby South (Invercargill City)SOUTHLAND876 · 0 · 0
- #27Richmond (Invercargill City)SOUTHLAND023 · 0 · 0
- #28Appleby North (Invercargill City)SOUTHLAND023 · 0 · 0
| # ▲ | AREA | REGION | LIVABILITY | ACCESS · TRANSIT · SOCIAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invercargill Central | SOUTHLAND | 94 | 97 · 0 · 89 | 1,278 |
| 2 | Te Ānau | SOUTHLAND | 80 | 95 · 0 · 70 | 2,751 |
| 3 | Ōtautau | SOUTHLAND | 80 | 80 · 0 · 96 | 2,841 |
| 4 | Riverton | SOUTHLAND | 79 | 95 · 0 · 70 | 1,710 |
| 5 | Winton | SOUTHLAND | 72 | 83 · 0 · 89 | 2,475 |
| 6 | Wyndham-Catlins | SOUTHLAND | 69 | 46 · 0 · 96 | 2,214 |
| 7 | Waikaka | SOUTHLAND | 67 | 23 · 0 · 96 | 1,536 |
| 8 | Lumsden-Balfour | SOUTHLAND | 64 | 67 · 0 · 89 | 1,314 |
| 9 | Longwood Forest | SOUTHLAND | 61 | 86 · 0 · 70 | 2,073 |
| 10 | Windsor | SOUTHLAND | 57 | 82 · 0 · 70 | 3,291 |
| 11 | Bluff | SOUTHLAND | 55 | 80 · 0 · 70 | 1,797 |
| 12 | Gladstone (Invercargill City) | SOUTHLAND | 54 | 23 · 0 · 89 | 2,385 |
| 13 | Ōhai-Nightcaps | SOUTHLAND | 53 | 79 · 0 · 70 | 1,509 |
| 14 | Waikiwi | SOUTHLAND | 45 | 64 · 0 · 70 | 3,528 |
| 15 | Mossburn | SOUTHLAND | 43 | 60 · 0 · 70 | 1,233 |
| 16 | Avenal | SOUTHLAND | 43 | 60 · 0 · 70 | 1,191 |
| 17 | Awarua Plains | SOUTHLAND | 36 | 38 · 0 · 70 | 987 |
| 18 | Edendale-Woodlands | SOUTHLAND | 34 | 23 · 0 · 70 | 2,313 |
| 19 | Strathern | SOUTHLAND | 26 | 72 · 0 · 32 | 3,912 |
| 20 | Mataura | SOUTHLAND | 24 | 67 · 0 · 32 | 1,650 |
| 21 | Mararoa | SOUTHLAND | 17 | 50 · 0 · 32 | 864 |
| 22 | Otatara | SOUTHLAND | 14 | 38 · 0 · 32 | 3,432 |
| 23 | Georgetown | SOUTHLAND | 14 | 38 · 0 · 32 | 2,106 |
| 24 | West Plains-Makarewa | SOUTHLAND | 12 | 23 · 0 · 32 | 1,725 |
| 25 | Newfield | SOUTHLAND | 12 | 23 · 0 · 32 | 2,301 |
| 26 | Appleby South (Invercargill City) | SOUTHLAND | 8 | 76 · 0 · 0 | 1,671 |
| 27 | Richmond (Invercargill City) | SOUTHLAND | 0 | 23 · 0 · 0 | 2,754 |
| 28 | Appleby North (Invercargill City) | SOUTHLAND | 0 | 23 · 0 · 0 | 1,839 |
New Zealand most liveable suburbs FAQ
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What does Most Liveable Suburbs rank?
Most Liveable Suburbs ranks areas in Southland using QuickProperty's processed property and locality datasets. Top 50 areas by a composite livability index — amenity access, public transport, and schools + hospitals, normalised within New Zealand (method: Urban Liveability Index, Higgs et al. 2019)
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How should I use this ranking for property research?
Use the ranking as a screening step for Southland. Save realistic areas to your shortlist, compare the strongest pair, and open suburb detail pages before relying on one result.
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Does the top ranked area mean it is the best choice?
No. Rankings are a shortlist input, not a final recommendation. Check price history, rent, income, population, local services, source freshness, and current listings before making a decision.
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How current is the ranking data?
QuickProperty uses processed public-source datasets and refreshes automated sources where available. Use the suburb detail page source panels to see which signals are current, estimated, or missing for a specific area.