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)