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Suburb profile · Wellington · NZ

Upper Plain NZ

Upper Plain is in Wellington, New Zealand, with population 1,263.

Limited data

Thin-context

This page still helps with local context, but the evidence stack is too thin for a clean suburb-level call. Use nearby alternatives or compare mode before turning it into a shortlist decision.

Why it fits

Lower deprivation supports a livability-led read.

What to check

The page is thin enough that nearby alternatives should be checked before shortlisting.

Median rent
Census rent fallback
Population
1,263
1K local footprint
D3 vs NZ
Income
$43K/yr
Median personal income
D6 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 2
Lower deprivation
D2 vs NZ
Schools
1
matched school context

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$527K
+4.2% over 5yr
2.8%YoY
Lower quartile
$444K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
3,579
QV-based HPI
6.1%5yr
Income to buy
6.8x
Years of median income
Annual sales
474
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$2,444/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
38%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
9.1 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$2,569
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$2,331
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$2,444
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$2,490

A territorial-authority estimate: the Masterton District median sale price on a 20% deposit and 30-year loan, against the TA median household income implied by HUD's income-to-buy ratio, at RBNZ new-mortgage rates. A market-wide guide, not a Upper Plain-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr +0.3%5yr -10.6%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Masterton District territorial authority (monthly, Jan 2007 = 1000). A valuation-based index of price movement over time — distinct from the actual median sale price above.

Years of median household income to buy

Figures are for the Masterton District territorial authority (as at 2026-03). New Zealand has no free suburb-level sale-price series, so these are TA-wide medians from HUD Local Housing Statistics (LINZ District Valuation Roll + Stats NZ) — a market backdrop for Upper Plain, not a Upper Plain-specific sale price.

Personal income

$43K personal · yr-11.7% vs Wellington suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
141
$10,001-$20,000
111
$20,001-$30,000
153
$30,001-$50,000
168
$50,001-$70,000
159
$70,001-$100,000
150
$100,001 or more
150

Median individual income. NZ has no suburb-level household-income or sale-price data, so this is a personal-income benchmark, not a household-affordability measure. Distribution covers people aged 15+ with stated income; counts are randomly rounded to base 3.

Housing stock and tenure

Home ownership over three censuses+3.3pp since 2013
2013
82% owned
2018
82% owned
2023
85% owned

8.8% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

12% damp (+2pp vs 2018) and 8% with visible mould larger than A4 (-0pp vs 2018).

Investor-specific data (gearing, investor concentration) is not published for NZ suburbs — the tenure trend above is the available investor signal.

Population outlook

28,300 people · 202330,300 by 2033 (+7.1%)

Stats NZ subnational projection (2023 base, medium series) for Masterton District — the finest official projection grain available; suburb-level projections do not exist.

Crime

Rate · per 100k4,696
Total incidents1,300· 2026-05
  • Assault20640%
  • Burglary26151%
  • Robbery153%
  • Sexual Assault285%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
Very high
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
<1 km
Wairarapa Fault
Fault slip rate
Very High
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Upper Plain's centre to the nearest mapped active fault (GNS Science NZ Active Faults Database) — an area estimate, not a site-specific seismic assessment. NZ's full ground-shaking model (NSHM) is not available as a queryable map layer.

Short-term rentals

16
active listings · ~12.7 per 1,000 residents
94%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
0%
run by multi-listing operators
Investment view Estimated
$164
median nightly (entire home)
34%
estimated occupancy
$19,907
estimated annual revenue (gross)

Active Airbnb listings point-mapped to this suburb from Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0). Occupancy and revenue are estimates from Inside Airbnb's San Francisco model (review-rate proxy, minimum-stay assumption, occupancy capped at 70%) — they are gross, indicative, and not a guarantee of returns. Short-stay letting is subject to state and local regulation.

Schools

Total1
Students202
State1
  • Fernridge SchoolContributing · State

Investment grade

Cgrade · 56/100 · top 44% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 56% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth14
Rental yield66
Stability81

Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer

District-level grade across New Zealand territorial authorities, combining 5-year price growth, rental yield (district median rent vs district median price), and stability (price-to-income level + affordability trajectory) via the same three-pillar method with an imbalance penalty. New Zealand has no free suburb-level prices, so this reflects your area's territorial authority. Within-New-Zealand relative, indicative only — not financial advice.

Building activity

Latest consents
1
1 houses · 0 units
88.9%YoY D1 vs NZ

Employment

Employed residents
699
Was 624 in 2018
12.0%vs 2018 D3 vs NZ

Full data detail

Upper Plain Wellington — Property Data and Demographics

Upper Plain is a small community in Wellington with a population of 1,263 and a median age of 46. Median personal income is $43K per year. The main ethnic groups are European, Māori, Pacific Peoples. Wellington population estimates moved +0.0% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +1.0% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 624 in 2018 to 699 in 2023 (+12.0%), which should be read as a census-to-census employment backdrop rather than a live jobs series. Te Waihanga's December 2025 Pipeline snapshot tracked over 12,000 NZ infrastructure initiatives, with more than 2,700 under construction and transport taking 52% of projected 2026 pipeline spend, which should be read as a broader national delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project list.

Livability indicators for Upper Plain: NZDep decile 2 (low deprivation (affluent)); 1 school with avg EQI 448.

In 2026, Upper Plain recorded 1 building approval (1 house, 0 units), down 88.9% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
School QualityEQI 448· Average
DeprivationDecile 2 Low
Development-89% Slowing
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)1
Houses1
YoY change-88.9%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population1,263
Median age46
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$43,000
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived2/10
NZDep score931

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European1,170
Māori201
Pacific Peoples36
Asian30
MELAA3
Top industriesCensus 23
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing90
Construction87
Health Care and Social Assistance87
Education and Training60
Professional, Scientific and Technical54
Area & amenity
Hospitals · Masterton DistrictMoH
Wairarapa HospitalPublic Hospital
Shortlist workspace

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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Thin evidence

Upper Plain is a thin local read rather than a complete suburb verdict.

NZ suburb pages combine Stats NZ, MBIE, MoE, GTFS, and pinned service coverage. The key difference is that some items are direct feeds, while others are fallback or snapshot layers.

RENT POSTURE
Rent is using MBIE bond data when present.

Treat current rent as a decision input, not as a guaranteed market quote.

HOSPITAL POSTURE
Hospital coverage comes from an official pinned snapshot.

This is a trusted coverage layer, but it is still a pinned snapshot rather than a live facility API.

TRANSPORT POSTURE
Transport is feed-based and depends on GTFS bundle coverage.

It is good for stop presence and local network context, but not a guarantee that every operator or schedule is equally current.

Data status
Weekly rent
Stats NZ Census 2023 · No linked local rent source
stable source · manual file · snapshot · census-cycle
Missing
Schools
MoE school directory · 1 schools matched
stable source · automated · every update · nightly
Available
Hospitals
Pinned Health NZ public hospital snapshot · No linked local hospital coverage
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Transport
NZ GTFS bundle · No matched local transport stops
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Building consents
Stats NZ building consents CSV · 2026 · Annual release series
Available
Demographic baseline
Stats NZ Census 2023 · Population, income, and demographic baseline
stable source · manual file · snapshot · census-cycle
Available
Available means a direct local source is linked. Verify means the page is using a weaker fallback or coverage-only snapshot, especially Census rent fallback or pinned hospital coverage.
Sparse locality note

This page stays indexable because Upper Plain still carries enough real local context to help with NZ suburb discovery. It should still be read as a lighter locality brief, not as a fully covered suburb profile.

WHY IT LOOKS LIGHTER
The page is missing a direct local rent signal.

That leaves the page relying more on Census and service context than on a stronger market read.

WHAT IS MISSING
Coverage is lighter across hospital coverage and transport stops.

The lighter areas here are hospital coverage and transport stops, so one sparse reading should not stand in for the whole suburb story.

BEST NEXT STEP
Use this page to frame the locality, then compare or zoom back out.

Use the region hub, compare, or nearby better-covered suburbs first, before treating this as a complete market read.

Page status
INDEXED WITH LIGHTER COVERAGE

The page still has enough real suburb context to remain searchable, but some market and service layers are too light for a full-confidence read.

HOW TO READ THIS PAGE

Use this page to frame the locality, then pressure-test the story with compare, the region hub, or a nearby better-covered suburb before treating it as complete.

Stronger nearby reads

If Upper Plain feels too thin on its own, use these nearby suburbs as stronger local reads before treating it as a full shortlist call.

Homebush-Te Ore Ore most similar
similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop same · income same $ · NZDep same

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Kopuaranga most similar
similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop -300 · adds rent coverage · income +$1K

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Opaki most similar
similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop -100 · income +$5K · NZDep -1

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Upper Plain FAQ

Common questions
  1. What is the livability profile for Upper Plain?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Upper Plain show: Average, Low, Slowing. These are based on rent affordability, school EQI, NZDep deprivation index, and transport access.

  2. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Upper Plain?

    Housing data comes from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). Demographics are from Stats NZ Census 2023. Schools data uses the Ministry of Education Equity Index (EQI). The deprivation score uses NZDep2018. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.

  3. How often is the Upper Plain data updated?

    RBNZ macro data updates with each deploy. Demographics are from NZ Census 2023. School EQI scores are from the Ministry of Education latest release.