2023 Census severe housing deprivation (homelessness) estimates provide information about the number, prevalence rates, and characteristics of people experiencing severe housing deprivation in Aotearoa New Zealand. For the first time, this includes estimates for the LGBTIQ+ population and disabled people.
This 2023 Census data highlights characteristics of people experiencing severe housing deprivation, and their different living situations - from those living without shelter to those living in uninhabitable housing.
Key facts
- At the time of the 2023 Census, 112,496 people, or 2.3 percent of the census usually resident population, were estimated to be severely housing deprived.
- This was an increase from the 99,462 people, or 2.1 percent, estimated to be severely housing deprived in 2018.
- 61.3 percent of those living in severe housing deprivation were in uninhabitable housing.
- Groups particularly affected by severe housing deprivation in 2023 included Pacific peoples (6.6 percent of Pacific peoples), disabled people (4.1 percent of disabled people aged five years and over), and the LGBTIQ+ population (2.6 percent of LGBTIQ+ peoples aged over 15 years).
- Buller and Gisborne districts had the highest estimated proportions of people experiencing severe housing deprivation (5.8 and 5.4 percent of usual residents, respectively).
About the estimates
Severe housing deprivation is defined as people living in severely inadequate housing due to a lack of access to minimally adequate housing. This means not being able to access a private dwelling to rent or own that has all basic amenities (cooking facilities, safe drinking water, a kitchen sink, a bath or shower, a toilet, and electricity). These amenities allow people to meet their basic needs for living within the walls of their home.
We use the New Zealand definition of homelessness to organise the severely housing deprived population into four groups:
- without shelter
- in temporary accommodation
- sharing someone else's private dwelling
- in uninhabitable housing.
New Zealand definition of homelessness: 2015 update has more information.
Severe housing deprivation (homelessness) estimates - updated methodology: 2023 Census explains how we calculated the severe housing deprivation estimates.
Nearly 112,500 people estimated to be severely housing deprived in 2023
As at the 2023 Census, 112,496 people (2.3 percent of the population) were estimated to be severely housing deprived. The actual number may be higher, as undercounting is likely to affect all categories of severe housing deprivation. We weren't able to determine the severe housing deprivation status for 355,299 people.
Just over 13,000 more people were estimated to be severely housing deprived in 2023, compared with the 2018 estimate of 99,462, or 2.1 percent of the census usually resident population.
NZ definition of homelessness category |
Specific living situation |
Number of people |
Prevalence rate per |
|
Without shelter |
Roofless/rough sleeper |
333 |
0.7 |
|
Improvised dwelling |
1,116 |
2.3 |
||
Mobile dwelling |
3,516 |
7.1 |
||
Subtotal |
4,965 |
10.1 |
||
Temporary |
Emergency and transitional |
Night shelter |
72 |
0.1 |
Women's Refuge |
155 |
0.3 |
||
Other accommodation |
4,956 |
10.1 |
||
Subtotal |
5,183 |
10.5 |
||
Commercial accommodation |
Camping ground/ |
2,601 |
5.3 |
|
Boarding houses, hotels, |
5,874 |
11.9 |
||
Subtotal |
8,475 |
17.2 |
||
Marae |
138 |
0.3 |
||
Subtotal (temporary accommodation) |
13,796 |
28.0 |
||
Sharing someone else's private dwelling (temporary resident in a severely crowded |
24,768 |
50.3 |
||
Uninhabitable housing (housing that lacks one or more basic amenities) |
68,967 |
140.0 |
||
Total severely housing deprived |
112,496 |
228.3 |
||
Cannot be determined (unknown) |
355,299 |
721.2 |
||
Not severely housing deprived |
4,459,191 |
9050.8 |
||
Excluded (those for whom homelessness does not apply - eg, in student |
67,095 |
N/A |
||
Total 2023 Census usually resident population |
4,993,923 |
N/A |
||
Source: The National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges and 2023 Census Note: Women's Refuge dwellings are not identifiable using census data. Some figures in this table differ from those |
||||
The proportions of the census usually resident population who lived without shelter, in temporary accommodation, and in uninhabitable housing all increased between 2018 and 2023:
- The proportion living without shelter (roofless or rough sleeper, living in an improvised dwelling or shelter, or living in a mobile dwelling) increased 29.5 percent, from 7.8 per 10,000 people in 2018 to 10.1 per 10,000 in 2023.
- The proportion living in temporary accommodation increased by 63.7 percent, from 17.1 people per 10,000 in 2018 to 28.0 per 10,000 in 2023. This partly reflects the shift between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses to support people into emergency and transitional housing - which was accelerated in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 lockdown. The national estimate for this group includes those in women's refuges and children living in non-private dwellings. As this extra data is not available on an individual level, it's excluded from our breakdowns.
- There were fewer people sharing someone else's private dwelling (50.3 people per 10,000 in 2023, compared with 59.1 per 10,000 in 2018). This decrease is only evident in the 15 to 29-year age group, so it's likely due to an improved quality of 2023 Census family information.
- The largest type of severe housing deprivation - living in uninhabitable housing - has increased by 7.4 percent. This increase was seen across most areas. Notably, the Gisborne region had a sharp 84.8 percent increase in the proportion of its residents living in uninhabitable housing (from 191.8 per 10,000 people in 2018, to 354.4 per 10,000 people in 2023). The Gisborne region was significantly impacted by severe weather events in the weeks leading up to the 2023 Census.
| Homelessness category | 2018 | 2023 |
| Without shelter | 7.8 | 10.1 |
| Temporary accommodation | 17.1 | 28 |
| Sharing someone else's private dwelling | 59.1 | 50.3 |
| Uninhabitable housing | 130.3 | 140 |
Severe housing deprivation more prevalent in areas hardest hit by severe weather
When looking at the census usually resident population in territorial authorities, the Buller and Gisborne districts had the highest estimated proportions of total severe housing deprivation at the time of the 2023 Census (579.2 and 544.0 per 10,000 usual residents, respectively). Both areas suffered multiple significant episodes of rain and flooding between 2018 and 2023.
Selwyn district had the lowest estimated proportion of severe housing deprivation (69.8 per 10,000 usual residents). This district had the largest increase in private dwellings from 2018 to 2023 (29.4 percent).
Aotearoa Data Explorer has more information.
The Buller and Far North districts had the highest estimated proportions of people living without shelter (84.0 and 74.2 per 10,000 usual residents, respectively).
The territorial authority area with the highest proportion of those living in temporary accommodation was the Mackenzie district (148.3 per 10,000 usual residents).
The Kawerau and Gisborne districts had the highest proportions of people sharing someone else's private dwelling (140.3 and 133.3 per 10,000 usual residents, respectively).
Buller (411.2 per 10,000 usual residents) and Gisborne (354.4 per 10,000 usual residents), followed closely by Kawerau (336.7 per 10,000 usual residents), had the highest proportions of people living in uninhabitable housing.
Disabled people more likely to experience severe housing deprivation
Washington Group Short Set on Functioning (WGSS) was used to compare average outcomes for disabled and non-disabled people. There are six activities that a person might have difficulty with:
- seeing
- hearing
- walking or climbing stairs
- remembering or concentrating
- washing all over or dressing
- communicating.
A person was considered disabled in the 2023 Census if they 'had a lot of difficulty with' or 'could not do at all' at least one of these activities. The WGSS was not designed to identify the entire disabled population.
At the time of the 2023 Census, 414.5 per 10,000 disabled people aged five years and over were estimated to be severely housing deprived, more than double the 203.7 per 10,000 non-disabled people aged five years and over.
Across all categories of homelessness, disabled people were estimated to have substantially higher proportions of people who were severely housing deprived, compared with non-disabled people.
| Homelessness category | Disabled | Not disabled |
| Temporary accommodation or without shelter | 77.3 | 34.0 |
| Sharing someone else's private dwelling | 64.0 | 44.4 |
| Uninhabitable housing | 273.3 | 125.3 |
Higher prevalence of severe housing deprivation for the LGBTIQ+ population
At the time of the 2023 Census, 4,413 people in LGBTIQ+, or Rainbow, communities were estimated to be living in severe housing deprivation. This equated to 260.9 per 10,000 LGBTIQ+ people aged 15 years and over, compared with 212.1 per 10,000 people aged 15 years and over who were not LGBTIQ+. The LGBTIQ+ population had higher proportions of people estimated to be experiencing severe housing deprivation across all categories of homelessness, compared with non-LGBTIQ+ people.
| Homelessness category | LGBTIQ+ | Not LGBTIQ+ |
| Temporary accommodation or without shelter | 60.8 | 40.5 |
| Sharing someone else's private dwelling | 54.6 | 44.1 |
| Uninhabitable housing | 145.6 | 127.4 |
More females are severely housing deprived
As at the 2023 Census, 57,576 females in the census usually resident population (232.3 per 10,000 females) were experiencing severe housing deprivation. The majority of severely housing deprived females were living in uninhabitable housing (36,813, 148.5 per 10,000 females).
There were 53,793 males (221.5 per 10,000 males) and 627 people of another gender (312.5 per 10,000 people of another gender) experiencing severe housing deprivation.
People of another gender were more highly represented across all categories of homelessness than males and females.
| Homelessness category | Male | Female | Another gender |
| Without shelter | 11.3 | 8.7 | 26.9 |
| Temporary accommodation | 30.1 | 23.9 | 37.4 |
| Sharing someone else's private dwelling | 49.3 | 51.2 | 59.8 |
| Uninhabitable housing | 130.8 | 148.5 | 189.9 |
Disabled females in the census usually resident population had the highest proportions of those experiencing uninhabitable housing (285.9 per 10,000 disabled aged five years and over) and sharing someone else's private dwelling (71.5 per 10,000 disabled females aged five years and over). Disabled males had the highest proportion of those living in temporary accommodation or without shelter (93.9 per 10,000 disabled males aged five years and over).
| Disability status and gender | Uninhabitable housing | Sharing someone else's private dwelling | Temporary accommodation or without shelter |
| Disabled male | 260.4 | 55.6 | 93.9 |
| Non-disabled male | 116.1 | 43.5 | 37.6 |
| Disabled female | 285.9 | 71.5 | 62.3 |
| Non-disabled female | 133.8 | 45.2 | 30.5 |
| Disabled of another gender | 238.3 | 53.8 | 84.6 |
| Non-disabled of another gender | 155.5 | 55 | 45.4 |
Children and young people have the highest rates of severe housing deprivation
The highest rates of severe housing deprivation in the census usually resident population were experienced by children (319.0 per 10,000 children aged under 15 years) and young people (287.3 per 10,000 people aged 15 to 29 years), and the lowest were among people aged 65 years and over (173.3 per 10,000 people aged 65 years and over).
There were higher proportions of people aged 15 to 29 years living in temporary accommodation (36.3 per 10,000 young people) or sharing someone else's private dwelling (97.1 per 10,000 young people) than other age groups.
Children made up the highest proportion of people living in uninhabitable housing (221.3 per 10,000 children under 15 years).
Higher proportions of people aged 30 to 64 (11.3 per 10,000 people aged 30 to 64 years) and 65 years and over (16.3 per 10,000 people aged 65 years and over) were living without shelter at the time of the 2023 Census.
| Homelessness category | Under 15 years | 15-29 years | 30-64 years | 65 years and over |
| Without shelter | 6.5 | 5.7 | 11.3 | 16.3 |
| Temporary accommodation | 17.9 | 36.3 | 26.6 | 27.8 |
| Sharing someone else's private dwelling | 73.4 | 97.1 | 32.1 | 18.2 |
| Uninhabitable housing | 221.3 | 148.3 | 112.9 | 111.0 |
LGBTIQ+ people aged 65 years and over were more likely to be severely housing deprived than younger LGBTIQ+ people. They had the highest proportions of those in uninhabitable housing (244.2 per 10,000 people) and in temporary accommodation or without shelter (73.3 per 10,000 people).
LGBTIQ+ people aged 15 to 29 years were more likely than other age groups to be sharing someone else's private dwelling (77.7 per 10,000 people).
| Homelessness category | 15-29 years | 30-64 years | 65 years and over |
| Temporary accommodation or without shelter | 58.0 | 61.7 | 73.3 |
| Sharing someone else's private dwelling | 77.7 | 34.3 | 31.7 |
| Uninhabitable housing | 116.0 | 160.1 | 244.2 |
Māori continue to be affected by severe housing deprivation
At the time of the 2023 Census, 34,557 people with Māori ethnicity (394.0 per 10,000 Māori census usual residents) were estimated to be severely housing deprived. This was an increase from 28,086 (365.5 per 10,000 Māori) in 2018.
Over half (19,791 people or 57.3 percent) of people with Māori ethnicity estimated as severely housing deprived in 2023 were living in uninhabitable housing, and over one-quarter were sharing someone else's private dwelling (9,555 people or 27.6 percent). Just over 1 in 10 Māori estimated to be severely housing deprived in 2023 were living in temporary accommodation (3,903 people or 11.3 percent), while the rest were living without shelter (1,308 people or 3.8 percent).
People with Māori ethnicity who were also LGBTIQ+ were particularly likely to be living in temporary accommodation or without shelter (100.6 per 10,000 LGBTIQ+ Māori aged 15 years and over).
Over one-third (36.6 percent) of all Māori estimated to be living in severe housing deprivation were tamariki aged under 15 years, most of whom were living in uninhabitable housing (61.5 percent).
People with Māori ethnicity made up 84.0 percent of those who experienced severe housing deprivation in the Gisborne region, and 61.4 percent of those in the Northland region. These areas were significantly affected by Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle and heavy rain events in early 2023.
Pacific peoples particularly affected by severe housing deprivation
At the time of the 2023 Census, 28,779 Pacific peoples in the census usually resident population (657.3 per 10,000 Pacific peoples) were estimated to be severely housing deprived. This was an increase from 21,786 (575.5 per 10,000 Pacific peoples) in 2018.
Pacific peoples had the highest proportion of people who were sharing someone else's private dwelling or living in uninhabitable housing.
| Ethnic group | Uninhabitable housing | Sharing someone else's private dwelling | Temporary accommodation | Without shelter |
| Pacific Peoples | 406.9 | 191.1 | 52.1 | 7.2 |
| Māori | 225.6 | 108.9 | 44.5 | 14.9 |
| Middle Eastern/Latin American/African | 274.7 | 43.1 | 59.7 | 5.9 |
| Asian | 185.4 | 62.8 | 19.2 | 2.4 |
| European | 75.1 | 19.4 | 21 | 11.1 |
| Other ethnicity | 104.2 | 12.4 | 21 | 17.2 |
This situation was even worse for disabled Pacific peoples living in severe housing deprivation (988.2 per 10,000 disabled Pacific peoples aged five years and over). LGBTIQ+ Pacific peoples were also particularly affected by severe housing deprivation (669.1 per 10,000 LGBTIQ+ Pacific peoples age 15 years and over).
Text alternative for Estimates of severe housing deprivation (per 10,000 people) by territorial authority and Auckland local board area, 2023 Census
Map shows estimates of the rate of severe housing deprivation per 10,000 people for each area across territorial authorities and Auckland local boards in the 2023 Census
Rate per 10,000 people was less than 150.0 for:
Selwyn district, Waipa district, Upper Hutt city, Ōrākei local board area, South Wairarapa district, Kāpiti Coast district, Waimakariri district, Rodney local board area, Hibiscus and Bays local board area, Devonport-Takapuna local board area, Timaru district, Carterton district, Central Otago district, Tauranga city, New Plymouth district, Matamata-Piako district, Wellington city, Taupō district, Manawatū district, Stratford district, Queenstown-Lakes district, and Ashburton district.
Rate per 10,000 people was between 150.0 and 179.9 for:
Masterton district, Southland district, Gore district, Upper Harbour local board area, Waitākere Ranges local board area, Franklin local board area, Kaipātiki local board area, Invercargill city, Central Hawke's Bay district, South Taranaki district, Christchurch city, Marlborough district, Palmerston North city, and Dunedin city.
Rate per 10,000 people was between180.0 and 219.9 for:
Hurunui district, Grey district, Tasman district, Waikato district, Lower Hutt city, Nelson city, Western Bay of Plenty district, Kaikōura district, Ōtorohanga district, Howick local board area, Whangārei district, Hastings district, Waitaki district, and Thames-Coromandel district.
Rate per 10,000 people was between 220.0 and 369.9 for:
Hauraki district, Rotorua district, Albert-Eden local board area, Tararua district, Hamilton city, Kaipara district, Chatham Islands territory, Porirua city, Whakatāne district, Mackenzie district, Horowhenua district, Clutha district, South Waikato district, Whanganui district, Napier city, Waimate district, Waiheke local board area, Westland district, Puketāpapa local board area, Waitomo district, Waitematā local board area, Whau local board area, Henderson-Massey local board area, and Rangitikei district.
Rate per 10,000 people was 370.0 or more for:
Wairoa district, Ruapehu district, Maungakiekie-Tāmaki local board area, Papakura local board area, Ōpōtiki district, Far North district, Kawerau district, Gisborne district, Manurewa local board area, Buller district, Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board area, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area, and Aotea/Great Barrier local board area.
More data
Aotearoa Data Explorer gives access to search and customise 2023 Census data tables and compare data with previous censuses. Estimates available via this tool may differ from those presented here. The national estimates of severe housing deprivation include those in women's refuges, children living in non-private dwellings, and provider data (for 2018). As this extra data is not available on an individual level, it is excluded from breakdowns in Aotearoa Data Explorer.
How to use Aotearoa Data Explorer has video tutorials and a user guide.
More information
Proportions are of the relevant census usually resident population for whom the severe housing deprivation classification should apply. This includes those whose severe housing deprivation status could not be determined.
Severe housing deprivation (homelessness) estimates - updated methodology: 2023 Census outlines the methodology used to produce the 2023 severe housing deprivation estimates and includes 2018 comparison figures.
Gender, sex, and LGBTIQ+ concepts in the 2023 Census provides an overview of the gender, sex, and LGBTIQ+ concepts, including information on the data collected, how the data will be output, and recommendations for using data across these concepts.
Definitions and metadata
2023 Census of Population and Dwellings - DataInfo+ provides information about methods and related metadata for the 2023 Census.
2018 Census of Population and Dwellings - DataInfo+ provides information about methods and related metadata for the 2018 Census.
Technical enquiries
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