Canterbury Goes Back-to-Back In ASB’s Latest Regional Economic Scoreboard

Monday, 23 March 2026, 12:47 pm
Press Release: ASB Bank

• South Island continues to hold strong with Canterbury outperforming the rest of the country
• Otago and Waikato coming in second place equal
• Auckland shows promising signs of improvement, jumps to fourth place
• Wellington remains under pressure, finishing last place

Canterbury continues to shine in ASB’s Regional Economic Scoreboard, finishing 2025 as New Zealand’s strongest-performing region as signs of economic recovery broaden across the country. 

ASB’s Regional Economic Scoreboard shows Canterbury secured its third quarterly win of the year, outperforming the country across nearly every key measure the bank tracks including employment, retail spending, housing activity and population growth. 

ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says the South Island continues to lead New Zealand’s multispeed recovery. 

“Canterbury has delivered backtoback wins to close out the year, supported by strong dairy incomes, steady jobs growth, resilient consumer spending and the recovery of the tourism sector. The region enters 2026 in a very strong position,” says Nick. 

Otago and Waikato tied for second place, with Otago buoyed by a strong tourism recovery and Waikato benefiting from its robust primary sector and improving labour market conditions. We expect the incoming Fonterra capital return to be a further boost for our Dairy farming regions via more spending and investment. 

Auckland climbed to fourth place, recording improvements in retail spending, construction activity and consumer confidence, although labour market conditions in the city remain subdued. 

“Seeing Auckland continue to improve is an important signal that the economic upswing is widening beyond the regions that led earlier in the cycle,” says Nick. 

At the other end of the rankings, Wellington finished last, reflecting ongoing weakness in the housing market, construction activity and discretionary spending, despite relatively strong employment growth. 

“Looking ahead, Wellington’s economy is forecast to recover, supported by low interest rates. Nevertheless, ongoing and emerging challenges may temper the pace of that recovery.” 

Nationally, the economy showed signs of growth toward the end of 2025. Retail spending lifted strongly across most regions, supported by lower interest rates, while employment indicators showed early signs of stabilisation. However, ASB economists caution that global uncertainty remains a key risk. 

“Conflict in the Middle East presents fresh headwinds, particularly through higher energy costs and inflation risks. The situation and extent of any impact to growth and inflation is highly uncertain and will depend on how long the conflict goes on for,” says Nick. 

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