Palmerston North and the wider Manawatu region is a great place to locate your business. It offers a central location that can save your company distribution costs, has access to a highly educated pool of specialists and skilled workers, and an economic development agency, Vision Manawatu offering excellent support services for business development.
The region is known for its Young Heart and Easy Living brand, reflecting its location as an ideal place for families to live, work and play. Lower costs of living (particularly for housing), great schools and tertiary study options and short commuting times are often deciding factors for people to relocate here.
Vision Manawatu has available a magazine profiling the wonderful lifestyle and benefits of living and doing business from here. Check out the Vision Manawatu Magazine or email info@visionmanawatu.org.nz for a copy to be posted out and an introduction to our business development staff.
Location
Palmerston North is centrally located. Many local businesses benefit from the convenient location and our excellent transport connections for distribution. For example, Ezibuy Ltd., the largest mail order catalogue company in Australasia, has its huge distribution centre right here in Palmerston North. Other major distribution centres based in the city include Foodstuffs, Countdown Logistics, Toyota and Brandlines.
Strong Economic Performance
The city economy has performed strongly over the last 10 years, with employment and employee earnings increasing faster in the city than national growth rates. The long-term outlook for the city is also strong. The latest economic reports can be download below and sector profiles are available from our Economy page
Population
Palmerston North has a young and highly educated population. The median age for people living in Palmerston North city is 32.4 years. The median age for New Zealand overall is 35.9 years.
Want to know more about Palmerston North demographics?
Read our profile from the 2006 Census
Statistics New Zealand – Quick Stats – Palmerston North (external website)
Education
People in Palmerston North are well-educated. In 2006, about a quarter of the Palmerston North adult population (23.5 percent) had higher level education, at least tertiary level. That is higher than the overall New Zealand figure of about a fifth (19.5 percent).
Want to know more?
Read the whole report.
Ministry of Social Development Social Report 2010 (external website)
Education and Training Opportunities
Many business owners and their staff benefit from keeping up-to-date with the latest in training and business knowledge. Upskilling of people is crucial to economic growth and success in all our communities.
Related information on this site: Learning – Education Providers
Don’t forget there are excellent business training and education resources provided by Vision Manawatu.
Vision Manawatu Enterprise Training Workshops and Schedule (external website)
Related information on this site: Business - Support
Support
Palmerston North has great support for developing local businesses. Vision Manawatu and the Manawatu Chamber of Commerce work together to support and develop our local businesses.
Related information on this site: Business - Support
New Zealand is a great place to do business
A 2007 World Bank survey placed New Zealand as the second easiest place to do business in the world, second only to the legendary Singapore.
Read more about doing business in New Zealand
New Zealand Government Business Website – doing business in New Zealand overview (external website)