Aucklanders have the poorest sense of quality of life of people in eight New Zealand cities, a survey has found.

The Nielsen 2018 Quality of Life survey showed Tauranga had the best quality of life among the eight cities surveyed, with 91 percent of residents saying their quality of life was good.

Tauranga also scored highest for health, emotional wellbeing and appreciation of the natural environment.

Hutt City and Wellington were not far behind Tauranga in the quality of life stakes, with 90 and 89 percent of residents respectively saying their quality of life was good.

Only 79 percent of Aucklanders said their city was a great place to live, while 94 percent of Wellingtonians thought their city was a wonderful place to be.

Porirua residents had the dimmest view of their city, with just 72 percent saying it was great place to reside.

Just under half of respondents said housing costs were affordable - and Aucklanders were most likely to say housing was not affordable.

Housing was rated as most affordable in Dunedin, followed by Hutt City, Christchurch, and Tauranga.

Despite the high life satisfaction rating, Tauranga residents were most likely to say their city had become a worse place to live in the past 12 months. The two main reasons cited were increased traffic congestion and population.

At 83 percent, Tauranga's score for traffic frustration was significantly higher than any other city, with Auckland coming in next at 36 percent.

Christchurch residents said their city had become better over the past year more than residents of other cities, with 56 percent seeing improvements.

Good relationships, finances and health and wellbeing were the main reasons people cited for positive quality of life ratings.

Poor financial situations, health, and housing quantity, quality and cost were the main factors behind people giving negative quality of life ratings.

Just under a third of respondents living in the eight cities felt their quality of life had improved over the past year, while 13 percent felt it had declined.

Dunedin residents were most likely to see a decrease in quality of life.

Snapshots from the survey:

Overall quality of life comparisons with other cities:

Tauranga 91 percent Hutt 90 percent Wellington 89 percent Dunedin 87 percent Porirua 85 percent Hamilton 84 percent Christchurch 84 percent Auckland 83 percent

Is your town a great place to live?

Wellington 94 percent Dunedin 87 percent Tauranga 86 percent Hutt 81 percent Auckland 79 percent Hamilton 75 percent Christchurch 73 percent Porirua 72 percent

Do you feel a sense of pride in the look and feel of your area?

Wellington 89 percent Dunedin 73 percent Tauranga 66 per cent Auckland 62 percent Hamilton 53 percent Hutt 50 percent Christchurch 44 percent Porirua 43 percent

Are your housing costs affordable?

Dunedin 65 percent Hutt 58 percent Christchurch 57 percent Tauranga 56 percent Hamilton 51 percent Wellington 50 percent Porirua 47 per cent Auckland 41 percent

Reasons for positive quality of life rating

Lifestyle

Christchurch 40 percent Tauranga 39 percent Wellington 36 percent Dunedin 35 percent Hutt 34 percent Porirua 33 percent Auckland 32 percent Hamilton 31 percent

Appreciation of natural environment

Tauranga 13 percent Auckland 8 percent Porirua 8 percent Dunedin 8 percent Wellington 7 percent Hutt 5 percent Christchurch 4 percent Hamilton 3 percent

Health and Wellbeing

Dunedin 45 percent Christchurch 45 percent Tauranga 43 percent Wellington 42 percent Auckland 41 percent Hamilton 41 percent Hutt 40 percent Porirua 40 percent

Relationships

Wellington 49 percent Christchurch 49 percent Tauranga 48 percent Dunedin 45 percent Auckland 44 percent Hutt 44 percent Porirua 44 percent Hamilton 41 percent

Why has your city become a better place to live over the previous 12 months?

Improved amenities

Auckland 37 percent Hutt 35 percent Dunedin 32 percent Tauranga 31 percent Christchurch 24 percent Wellington 22 percent Porirua 20 percent Hamilton 19 percent

Growth - economy and business

Tauranga 15 percent Dunedin 12 percent Hamilton 8 percent Christchurch 7 percent Porirua 7 percent Hutt 5 percent Wellington 3 percent Auckland 3 percent

Good roads/roads being upgraded

Christchurch 16 percent Tauranga 14 percent Auckland 10 percent Hamilton 10 percent Hutt 8 percent Wellington 6 percent Dunedin 4 percent Porirua 3 percent

Why has your city become a worse place to live over the last 12 months?

More traffic and traffic congestion

Tauranga 83 percent Auckland 36 percent Hamilton 32 percent Wellington 29 percent Hutt 25 percent Dunedin 19 percent Christchurch 7 percent

Increase in population

Tauranga 25 percent Auckland 9 percent Dunedin 7 percent Hamilton 4 percent Porirua 4 percent Christchurch 3 percent Hutt 2 percent Wellington 1 percent

Infrastructure failing to keep up with demand

Tauranga 17 percent Dunedin 9 percent Auckland 7 percent Hamilton 5 percent Porirua 5 percent Wellington 5 percent Christchurch 2 percent Hutt 2 percent

Homelessness

Wellington 44 percent Tauranga 20 percent Hamilton 19 percent Hutt 16 percent Dunedin 13 percent Auckland 11 percent Christchurch 9 percent Porirua 7 percent

Crime rate increased

Hamilton 33 percent Porirua 22 percent Auckland 16 percent Hutt 14 percent Christchurch 12 percent Tauranga 2 percent Wellington 1 percent Dunedin 0 percent

Lack of maintenance

Auckland 14 percent Hutt 8 percent Porirua 6 percent Christchurch 6 percent Dunedin 6 percent Hamilton 5 percent Wellington 2 percent Tauranga 2 percent

- RNZ/ SunLive