Tauranga logs 217 sunny days a year to Wellington's 226 — Wellington wins by 9. Tauranga also leads on outdoor-dinner months by 5.

Tauranga runs about $2,462/mo for a balanced lifestyle against Wellington's $2,666/mo — Tauranga comes in $204 cheaper each month, roughly 8% less.

On mobility, Wellington scores 3.0 vs Tauranga's 1.6 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on public transit.

Wellington's culture score of 2.6 sits well above Tauranga's 0.5, with the biggest gap on live music venues.

Tauranga and Wellington score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (4.2 vs 4.3, 0–5 scale).

Tauranga's safety score of 4.3 sits well above Wellington's 3.9, with the biggest gap on walking safety. Wellington still holds an edge on wildfire safety.

Wellington's career score of 2.9 sits well above Tauranga's 2.0, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.

Wellington's social & community score of 3.7 sits well above Tauranga's 3.2, with the biggest gap on expat-first community. Tauranga still holds an edge on expat integration experience.

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

On family, Wellington scores 2.9 vs Tauranga's 2.1 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on universities.

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

Tauranga averages 6.8 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus Wellington's 6.2 µg/m³ (good) — Wellington breathes ~9% cleaner air (0.6 µg/m³ lower).

Who Thrives Here