After holding the crown for nearly three decades, Tauranga has been knocked off its perch as New Zealand's fastest growing city by a nearby rival.
The coastal city, which Statistics NZ says encompasses Mt Maunganui and Papamoa, was pipped at the post by one further inland — Hamilton.
The latest Population Estimates & Projections data provided to 1News by Statistics NZ shows that between June 30, 2022 and June 30, 2023, Hamilton grew by 3.4% while Tauranga grew by 2.5%.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said it is fantastic to see more families and business choosing "our great river city" as a place to live, work and raise families.
"This is testament to the wonderful lifestyle, education and work opportunities we have on offer."
However, she told 1News strong population growth would require 1300 new homes a year for 10 years — just to cope with growth and a present shortage of homes.
Development of the new Peacocke neighbourhood in the south of the city would house up to 20,000 people, but Southgate said that it won't be achievable for the council alone due to a "broken and unsustainable funding model".
"We desperately need new ways of working between local and central government to support large scale investment, especially for infrastructure, to meet the needs of the community and a strong economy."
Hamilton also grew faster than other regions between 2022 and 2023.
Waikato region took a bronze medal, growing by 2.3% compared to fourth-place Bay of Plenty which grew by 2.1%.
Auckland and Otago took first and second place.
However, when looking at longer term data, the Bay of Plenty city comes out on top.
For the five-year period between June 30, 2018 and June 30, 2023, Tauranga grew yearly by an average of 2.6%, whereas Hamilton grew by 1.9%.
The Bay of Plenty was also the country's fastest-growing region for that same time period, growing by 2% per year on average.
Waikato grew by 1.9% over those five years.
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