Chart 1: Rental affordability across New Zealand

Average weekly rent as % of average household income, March years

A line chart showing average weekly rent as a percent of average household income between 2000 and 2024 (March years). The line for Metro areas is relatively flat, starting at 19.8% and ending at 20.5%. The line for Rural areas starts much lower, and 14.8% and dropping to 12.5% in 2002, but rising to 20.4% in 2024, almost matching Metro areas. The line for Provincial areas starts in the middle at 17.7% and drops to 15.9% two years later, but it grows much faster, passing Metro areas in 2021 and finishing in 2024 at 22.9%, 2.4 percentage points higher than Metro areas.