Benefit receipt
Regional differences
There is great regional variation in the proportion of the population aged 16 to 24 in receipt of a main benefit.
Urban areas generally have lower rates of benefit receipt than rural areas.
The area with the highest proportion of benefit recipients is Kaipara District, where more than a third (33.9 percent) of all young people aged 16 to 24 were in receipt of a benefit. This was followed by Kawerau District, on just under a quarter (24.7 percent). The areas with the lowest rate of benefit receipt were Queenstown-Lakes District (1 percent) and North Shore City (3 percent).
| Territorial Authority | Proportion of population aged 16 to 24 in receipt of a main benefit (%) |
|---|---|
| Ashburton | 4.9% |
| Auckland City | 4.0% |
| Buller | 9.7% |
| Central Hawkes Bay | 8.8% |
| Central Otago | 5.0% |
| Christchurch City | 7.0% |
| Clutha | 5.0% |
| Dunedin City | 4.5% |
| Far North | 14.4% |
| Franklin | 7.2% |
| Gisborne | 14.3% |
| Gore | 9.8% |
| Grey | 9.9% |
| Hamilton City | 9.7% |
| Hastings | 11.2% |
| Hauraki | 11.7% |
| Horowhenua | 13.8% |
| Hutt City | 9.2% |
| Invercargill City | 13.7% |
| Kaipara | 33.9% |
| Kapiti Coast | 10.8% |
| Kawerau | 24.7% |
| Manawatu | 5.6% |
| Manukau City | 8.6% |
| Marlborough | 6.4% |
| Masterton | 15.2% |
| Matamata-Piako | 7.0% |
| Napier City | 12.3% |
| Nelson City | 7.7% |
| New Plymouth | 8.6% |
| North Shore City | 3.0% |
| Opotiki | 12.3% |
| Palmerston North City | 7.2% |
| Papakura | 13.1% |
| Porirua City | 13.7% |
| Queenstown Lakes | 1.0% |
| Rangitikei | 10.2% |
| Rodney | 6.1% |
| Rotorua | 12.8% |
| Ruapehu | 6.6% |
| South Taranaki | 7.2% |
| South Waikato | 11.4% |
| Stratford | 11.2% |
| Tararua | 10.1% |
| Tasman | 7.0% |
| Taupo | 6.7% |
| Tauranga | 8.6% |
| Thames-Coromandel | 8.6% |
| Timaru | 10.0% |
| Upper Hutt City | 8.2% |
| Waikato | 8.0% |
| Waimakariri | 7.1% |
| Waipa | 7.6% |
| Wairoa | 15.8% |
| Waitakere City | 9.1% |
| Waitaki | 6.8% |
| Waitomo | 13.2% |
| Wanganui | 17.3% |
| Wellington City | 3.1% |
| Western Bay of Plenty | 3.7% |
| Whakatane | 9.1% |
| Whangarei | 12.1% |
Source: Ministry of Social Development. Data is based on Work and Income Service Centre location, and as it was not possible to generate data for all Territorial Authorities, some have been excluded. Clients who deal exclusively through Work and Income Call Centres are not represented in this data, but numbers are small (46 clients nationwide across the four main benefits summed here).
