Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city (with almost 1.5 million people) located in the North Island. It’s a significant Asia-Pacific innovation hub, large center for commerce and IT, and one of the top cities in Mercer’s quality of living city ranking (along with Vancouver and Munich). It’s also home to plenty of research and development (R&D) facilities, many startups as well as seasoned tech companies.
IT salaries
Auckland has some of the highest IT salaries in New Zealand with an average wage of NZ$93,000 (4% higher than the national average).
Among in-demand IT occupations are Agile project managers, automated testers, data & BI (business intelligence) specialists, IT architects, Java/.NET developers, mobile developers, and product owners.
Here are the average IT salaries in Auckland depending on the specialization and the type of employment according to Recruit IT (NZ$ per year before taxes):
Automation test engineer:
- Permanent (per year): 100,000 – 130,000
- Contract (per hour): 85–110
Business analyst:
- Permanent (per year): 80,000 – 120,000
- Contract (per hour): 90–130
Database administrator:
- Permanent (per year): 85,000 – 120,000
- Contract (per hour): 75–130
Database developer:
- Permanent (per year): 75,000 – 120,000
- Contract (per hour): 85–130
Data scientist:
- Permanent (per year): 80,000 – 150,000
- Contract (per hour): 95–125
DevOps engineer:
- Permanent (per year): 90,000 – 120,000
- Contract (per hour): 90–110
IT project manager:
- Permanent (per year): 100,000 – 150,000
- Contract (per hour): 100–140
Mobile developer:
- Permanent (per year): 75,000 – 120,000
- Contract (per hour): 80–110
Scrum master:
- Permanent (per year): 110,000 – 140,000
- Contract (per hour): 110–130
Security consultant:
- Permanent (per year): 120,000 – 160,000
- Contract (per hour): 130–180
Software developer:
- Permanent (per year): 80,000 – 120,000
- Contract (per hour): 80–120
Solutions architect:
- Permanent (per year): 120,000 – 160,000
- Contract (per hour): 100–160
Systems engineer:
- Permanent (per year): 75,000 – 120,000
- Contract (per hour): 65–100
Technical writer:
- Permanent (per year): 80,000 – 95,000
- Contract (per hour): 80–100
There’s a difference between permanent and contract jobs. A permanent job means that you’re an employee hired under a contract of services (an employment agreement). You’re eligible for sick leaves, vacations, and other rights. A contract job means you’re a self-employed person hired under a contract for services (an independent contractor agreement). You receive your salary as per hour rate, pay your own tax, and don’t get things like sick leaves.
Economy
Auckland is the major economic and financial center of New Zealand.
The unemployment rate in Auckland is 4.3% — almost at the same level as the national average of 4.1% (as of March 2020).
Important economic sectors in Auckland include:
- Business services
- Commerce
- Construction
- Finance
- Food processing
- Health care
- Hospitality
- ICT (information and communications technology)
- Machinery
- Motor vehicle wholesaling
- Tourism
Auckland also accounts for half of New Zealand’s technology workforce. The city is home to GridAKL Innovation Precinct and the AR/VR Garage — an augmented and virtual reality development facility. Moreover, Takapuna, a seaside suburb on Auckland’s North Shore, has been nicknamed “Techapuna”, with at least 50 high-tech startups within one square kilometer.
Popular tech industries in Auckland include artificial intelligence (AI), advanced engineering, cloud services, cybersecurity, DevOps, digital media, digital transformation, gaming, geospatial, telecommunications, VR/AR, and more.
The largest technology companies present in Auckland include:
- Amazon
- Apple
- Cisco Systems
- Datacom
- EROAD
- Experieco
- Facebook
- Fiserv
- Gentrack
- Google
- Grinding Gear Games
- Hewlett Packard
- Invenco
- Microsoft
- NTT New Zealand
- Optimation
- Oracle
- Orion Health
- Pushpay
- Putti Apps
- Spark
- Teknique
- Trade Me
- Unleashed Software
- Vend
- Vista Group
- Westbourne IT
- Xero
Cost of living
Auckland is the most expensive city in New Zealand and the third in Oceania after Sydney and Newcastle in Australia, according to Numbeo Cost of Living Index.
The average monthly costs in Auckland are about NZ$1,420 for a single person or NZ$5,160 for a four-person family (excluding rent).
Here are examples of the average prices in Auckland (NZ$):
- Meal at McDonald’s: 10–15
- Meal at another inexpensive restaurant: 14–35
- Average food basket (milk, bread, eggs, cheese, chicken, apples, potatoes, water, beer): 51
- Monthly fee at a fitness club: 25–120
- Monthly pass: 160–215
- Monthly rent (1 bedroom): 1,200 – 2,400
- Monthly rent (3 bedrooms): 2,390 – 4,000
- Property prices per square meter: 7,000 – 15,000
- Utilities: 100–350 per month
- Internet: 70–100 per month
Travel
The city is served by Auckland Airport. Popular destinations include Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and many others.
As to the traveling within the city, traffic problems and the lack of good public transport are often mentioned among Auckland’s negative sides.
Entertainment
Auckland is the “City of Sails”. Its harbors are full of yachts and boats, and fresh seafood is the city’s specialty. You can find a plethora of trendy cafes and restaurants within Auckland and its surrounding areas.
The city is also famous for the Sky Tower (a telecommunications and observation tower) — the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere.
Auckland’s surrounding areas offer plenty of green spaces, parks, hills covered with rainforest, beaches, vineyards, and olive groves. The city is also known for 50 dormant volcanic cones it’s built around.