Queenstown Lakes residents’ overall quality of life has improved over the past year despite cost-of-living pressures, according to the district’s annual Quality of Life survey.
In the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s 2024 survey, 76% of respondents rated their quality of life as good or better, an increase of 4% from 2023.
Key contributors to locals’ wellbeing were the natural environment, safety and the lifestyle the district offered. Additionally, several annual housing metrics had also improved.
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers said it was pleasing to see Queenstown Lakes residents’ overall quality of life had not only remained high but had improved.
"These are challenging times with affordability issues and the growing pains that come with ongoing rapid growth, so to see so many in our community feeling good about their quality of life is heartening," he said.
"The results of this survey show positive movement in some areas but reinforce there’s work to be done. I want to reassure the community that we’re listening and feeding results into our own decision-making while also continuing to strongly advocate with central government and other organisations who can help to make a difference," he said.
The survey results showed affordability, housing and infrastructure continued to be the district’s primary challenges.
The national issues of inflation and cost of living were shown to have heavily affected Queenstown Lakes residents’ day-to-day lives. Of the respondents whose quality of life had decreased, 57% reported these as a main reason.
Furthermore, the number of people reporting they had no disposable income increased over the last year from 21% to 29%. This is considerably higher than any other result dating back to the survey’s inception in 2018.
On the jobs front, the number of residents who agreed there was opportunity for career advancement in the district dropped to 38%. The council is addressing this with the district’s economic diversification plan, which was endorsed by 18 organisations in 2024.
The plan sets out how local organisations will collaborate to diversify the district’s economy and create more tertiary training and professional development opportunities.
While housing issues remain a concern, there were improvements on the year before. Residents worried about having a steady place to live decreased from 21% in 2023 to 18% last year, and those who had experienced insecure accommodation reduced from 10% to 5%.
Residents reporting no barriers to accessing medical professionals declined again, from 39% last year to 37%, and was down from 47% in 2020. And only 14% of respondents agreed public transport met their needs.
Regarding the environment, residents concerned about climate change dropped from 78% to 71%, most moving to the neutral category. While 87% of residents agreed they believed it was worth taking the time to get recycling right and that they were confident they recycled correctly, only 15% agreed they were confident their recycling actually got recycled.
The survey had 1709 responses from residents, and a further 613 from non-residents.
