Greymouth is the largest town on the South Island's West Coast, at the mouth of the Grey River, around 3.5 hours from Christchurch via Arthur's Pass. Hokitika is 40 minutes south, Punakaiki 40 minutes north.

What is the TranzAlpine?

The TranzAlpine is the scenic train running daily between Christchurch and Greymouth through Arthur's Pass, widely rated among the world's great rail journeys. Greymouth is its western terminus.

Shantytown Heritage Park, 10 minutes south of Greymouth, is a recreated 19th-century gold rush town with steam train rides, historic buildings and gold panning where visitors regularly find real gold flakes.

The Barber is Greymouth's famous local wind, a cold katabatic flow that funnels down the Grey Valley on clear mornings, sharp enough to have earned its own name. Locals treat it as a point of pride.

How do I get from Christchurch to Greymouth?

The TranzAlpine train takes around 4.5 hours through Arthur's Pass. By car, around 3.5 hours via State Highway 73. Buses also run the route daily.

Which schools are in zone for Greymouth?

Children living in Greymouth are in zone for Blaketown School. Living in a school's home zone gives a guaranteed right to enrol.

How do I check my school zone in Greymouth?

Use the School Zone Checker on this page. Enter your address to check your school zone and see which schools you have a guaranteed right to enrol at.

Greymouth, West Coast | Postcode, Population & Property Values

Living in Greymouth

Greymouth is the biggest town on the West Coast, around 8,000 people at the mouth of the Grey River, Māwheranui, where the TranzAlpine train finishes one of the world's great rail journeys and deposits its passengers, blinking, into a town that has never once pretended to be fancy. The Coast doesn't do fancy. The Coast does real, and Greymouth is its capital.

The town grew on gold and coal, and that heritage is everywhere: in the solid old bank buildings, in the pounamu carving studios working the greenstone that made this river mouth significant for centuries before the miners arrived, and at Shantytown, the recreated gold rush village ten minutes south where your mate can pan for actual gold flakes.

Greymouth also gave the country Monteith's, and the brewery still runs tours and pours at the source. The famous local wind, the Barber, slices down the Grey Valley on cold mornings, sharp enough to have earned its own name, and the rainfall statistics are owned with genuine pride. Everything here is greener for it.

Greymouth High School anchors the schools, the wild beaches run north and south, and Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks are 40 minutes up the coast. Greymouth is the real West Coast deal. Pack a raincoat and an open mind.

Is Greymouth a good place to live?

Greymouth is home to roughly 8,337 people across 9.4 km². On Suburb's overall livability scale, Greymouth scores 72 out of 100, with a safety score of 72/100 and 58% green space.

Schools: Greymouth has 7 schools in or near the suburb, spanning early-childhood through to secondary education. See the Schools tab below for the full list.

Housing: The estimated median value is around $462K, and weekly rent typically sits around $240.

Lifestyle: Greymouth has cafés, shops and things to do nearby. Public transport stops are within easy reach. The current temperature is 9.9°C. See the Weather tab for monthly averages.

Whether Greymouth is right for you depends on what you’re looking for. Use the data and community tips below to decide if it suits your lifestyle, family and budget.

What locals know about Greymouth

Read tips from people who live here, or share what you know.

Map

Livability Breakdown

Safety72
Amenities100
Schools60
Housing Affordability81
Green space100
Community11
Transport20

Property & Economics

Est. Median Value: $462K
Median Weekly Rent: $240/wk
Median HH Income: $55K/yr
Pop. Growth (5yr): +2.3%
Data Year: 2023

Key Financial Indicators (NZD)

† Est. Median Value is suburb.co.nz's own estimate, modelled from available public data. We aim for accuracy, but where data is limited, estimates may be imprecise.

Nearby Suburbs

Browse all suburbs in Grey District →

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Greymouth?: Greymouth is the largest town on the South Island's West Coast, at the mouth of the Grey River, around 3.5 hours from Christchurch via Arthur's Pass. Hokitika is 40 minutes south, Punakaiki 40 minutes north.
What is the TranzAlpine?: The TranzAlpine is the scenic train running daily between Christchurch and Greymouth through Arthur's Pass, widely rated among the world's great rail journeys. Greymouth is its western terminus.
What is Shantytown?: Shantytown Heritage Park, 10 minutes south of Greymouth, is a recreated 19th-century gold rush town with steam train rides, historic buildings and gold panning where visitors regularly find real gold flakes.
What is the Barber?: The Barber is Greymouth's famous local wind, a cold katabatic flow that funnels down the Grey Valley on clear mornings, sharp enough to have earned its own name. Locals treat it as a point of pride.
How do I get from Christchurch to Greymouth?: The TranzAlpine train takes around 4.5 hours through Arthur's Pass. By car, around 3.5 hours via State Highway 73. Buses also run the route daily.
Which schools are in zone for Greymouth?: Children living in Greymouth are in zone for Blaketown School. Living in a school's home zone gives a guaranteed right to enrol.
How do I check my school zone in Greymouth?: Use the School Zone Checker on this page. Enter your address to check your school zone and see which schools you have a guaranteed right to enrol at.

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Greymouth

Schools in zone for Greymouth

Children living in Greymouth have a guaranteed right to enrol at these school, based on Ministry of Education home zones.

Blaketown School
Full Primary · roll 88 · decile 2

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Enter your address to check your school zone in Greymouth. School enrolment zones (home zones) decide which schools your child has a guaranteed right to enrol at.

Address matching is approximate and based on OpenStreetMap geocoding — confirm an exact result near a zone boundary directly with the school.

Other nearby schools

Schools close to Greymouth that you may be able to enrol at under open enrolment or by application (outside your home zone).

St Patrick's School (Greymouth)
Full Primary · roll 212 · decile 6 · 0.7 km away
John Paul II High School
Secondary (Year 9-15) · roll 193 · decile 6 · 0.8 km away
Greymouth High School
Secondary (Year 9-15) · roll 531 · decile 4 · 1.0 km away
Greymouth Main School
Full Primary · roll 183 · decile 6 · 1.4 km away
Cobden School
Full Primary · roll 102 · decile 2 · 1.8 km away
Karoro School
Full Primary · roll 170 · decile 8 · 2.7 km away

Explore Greymouth

Things to do(18)

History House

Left Bank Art Gallery

Pounamu Pathway - Māwhera

Art in the Park

Anzac Park

Civic Centre

West Coast Netball Centre

The West Coast Climbing Wall Trust

Grey United Tennis Club

Westland Recreation Centre

Woods Creek Track, Greymouth.

First Step Fitness

Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park

Chan's Martial Arts

Karoro Bowling Club

John Sturgeon Park

Omotumotu Scenic Reserve

King Park

Parks & green spaces(7)

Art in the Park

Anzac Park

Woods Creek Track, Greymouth.

Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park

John Sturgeon Park

Omotumotu Scenic Reserve

King Park

Healthcare(3)

Mason's Pharmacy

Unichem

Month	High (°C)	Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm/day)	Sunshine (hrs/day)
☀️ Jan	21.23	13.65	8.14	11.25
☀️ Feb	19.89	12.5	5.39	10.54
🍂 Mar	17.39	10.57	9.14	8.82
🍂 Apr	16.67	9.47	7.47	7.12
🍂 May	14.36	7.62	9.52	5.42
❄️ Jun	12.89	6.1	6.84	6.31
❄️ Jul	11.93	5.06	4.55	6.51
❄️ Aug	12.03	4.68	10.12	7.06
🌸 Sep	13.76	7.41	10.93	7.51
🌸 Oct	14.64	7.69	9.98	8.7
🌸 Nov	16.23	9.29	8.01	8.86
☀️ Dec	18.74	12.5	9.21	9.35

Living in Greymouth

Is Greymouth a good place to live?

What locals know about Greymouth

Map

Livability Breakdown

Property & Economics

Key Financial Indicators (NZD)

Nearby Suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Greymouth

Schools in zone for Greymouth

Blaketown School

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Other nearby schools

St Patrick's School (Greymouth)

John Paul II High School

Greymouth High School

Greymouth Main School

Cobden School

Karoro School

Explore Greymouth

🎯Things to do(18)

History House

Left Bank Art Gallery

Pounamu Pathway - Māwhera

Art in the Park

Anzac Park

Civic Centre

West Coast Netball Centre

The West Coast Climbing Wall Trust

Grey United Tennis Club

Westland Recreation Centre

Woods Creek Track, Greymouth.

First Step Fitness

Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park

Chan's Martial Arts

Karoro Bowling Club

John Sturgeon Park

Omotumotu Scenic Reserve

King Park

🌳Parks & green spaces(7)

Art in the Park

Anzac Park

Woods Creek Track, Greymouth.

Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park

John Sturgeon Park

Omotumotu Scenic Reserve

King Park

🏥Healthcare(3)

Mason's Pharmacy

Unichem

Greymouth Hospital Emergency

Eat & Drink in Greymouth

🍽️Places to eat & drink(47)

Armadillo's

Buccleugh's

The Speights Ale House

Bonzai Cafe

Robert Harris

Recreation Hotel Pub

Priya

GAP Cafe

Blanchy's

DP1 Cafe

Pizza Hut

The Speight's Ale House

Priya and Riyas takeaways

Sevenpenny

Greymouth & Co Cafe

Union Bar

Buccleugh's on High

Wok Asian Kitchen 鑊 - Railway Hotel

West Coast Kebabs

Sante Fe Takeaways

HopGoblin

Jade Boulder Gallery

Ferrari's Lounge Bar

Priya Indian Restaraunt

Monteith's Brewing Co

Things to do(18)

Parks & green spaces(7)

Healthcare(3)

Places to eat & drink(47)

Tradies & services(31)

Shops(35)