Auckland logs 5 outdoor-dinner months a year to New Plymouth's 3 — Auckland wins by 2. New Plymouth also leads on sunny days by 10.

Auckland runs about $2,985/mo for a balanced lifestyle against New Plymouth's $2,128/mo — New Plymouth comes in $857 cheaper each month, roughly 40% less.

On mobility, Auckland scores 2.6 vs New Plymouth's 1.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on flight connectivity. New Plymouth still holds an edge on car efficiency.

Auckland's culture score of 3.5 sits well above New Plymouth's 0.6, with the biggest gap on theatre & performing arts.

New Plymouth's nature & outdoors score of 5.0 sits well above Auckland's 4.3, with the biggest gap on mountain access.

New Plymouth's safety score of 4.3 sits well above Auckland's 4.0, with the biggest gap on walking safety. Auckland still holds an edge on earthquake safety.

Auckland's career score of 3.6 sits well above New Plymouth's 2.0, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.

Auckland's social & community score is ~1.2× New Plymouth's — in the upper band, while New Plymouth lands in the middle of the scale, with the biggest gap on multicultural mix. New Plymouth still holds an edge on expat integration experience.

On food & dining, Auckland scores 3.6 vs New Plymouth's 1.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on restaurant variety.

On family, Auckland scores 3.4 vs New Plymouth's 2.4 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on universities.

On healthcare, Auckland scores 3.0 vs New Plymouth's 2.7 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality.

Auckland averages 5.9 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus New Plymouth's 6.0 µg/m³ (good) — Auckland breathes ~1% cleaner air (0.1 µg/m³ lower).

Who Thrives Here