What is Lake Horowhenua?

Lake Horowhenua is a freshwater lake 5 km west of Levin, with picnic spots, boat ramps and bird life. Water quality has been an issue for years; check current conditions before swimming.

What is the Levin Mall?

Levin Mall on Oxford Street is the main shopping centre, anchored by The Warehouse and a supermarket. It includes around 30 retailers, banks and the typical small-town mall mix.

How do I get from Wellington to Levin?

By car, around 85 minutes via SH1 off-peak. The Capital Connection train takes around 90 minutes from Wellington to Levin Station. Multiple daily bus services also connect.

What is the Horowhenua district known for?

Horowhenua is one of New Zealand's main vegetable-growing regions, with greenhouses and market gardens supplying a substantial share of national production. Levin is the district's main service town.

Which schools are in zone for Levin?

Children living in Levin are in zone for Waiopehu College. Living in a school's home zone gives a guaranteed right to enrol.

How do I check my school zone in Levin?

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.

Levin, Manawatu-Whanganui | Schools, Lifestyle & Local Guide

Living in Levin

Levin is the main town of the Horowhenua district, around 90 km north of central Wellington on SH1. It's an agricultural service town that has spent the past few decades quietly becoming a Wellington commuter outpost. Population around 21,000 and growing.

The town centres on Oxford Street, with the Levin Mall, a Pak'nSave, the Saturday Riverside Market, and the standard country-town retail spine. Lake Horowhenua is 5 km west of town, with picnic spots, boat ramps and bird life (and the kind of swimming you do at your own risk, since water quality has been an issue for years).

The wider Horowhenua district produces a substantial share of New Zealand's vegetables. The greenhouses and market gardens are visible from SH1 on the way in, with the Levin growers' co-operatives anchoring the local agricultural economy.

Levin Station is on the Palmerston North line (Capital Connection only), with limited daily services. The Tararua foothills sit to the east. Horowhenua College handles the secondary kids. The new four-lane SH1 expressway around the town opened in 2022, cutting commute times to Wellington noticeably. It's a practical town, not a glamorous one. That's the local case for it.

Is Levin a good place to live?

Levin is home to roughly 20,643 people. On Suburb's overall livability scale, Levin scores 58 out of 100, with a safety score of 38/100 and 25% green space.

Schools: Levin has 11 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 $491K, and weekly rent typically sits around $390.

Lifestyle: Levin has cafés, shops and things to do nearby. The current temperature is 9.2°C. See the Weather tab for monthly averages.

Whether Levin 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.

Map

Livability Breakdown

Safety38
Amenities100
Schools40
Housing Affordability76
Green space85
Community11
Transport20

Property & Economics

Est. Median Value: $491K
Median Weekly Rent: $390/wk
Median HH Income: $54K/yr
Pop. Growth (5yr): +1.7%
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 Horowhenua District →

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Levin?: Levin is the main town of the Horowhenua district, around 90 km north of central Wellington on SH1. It sits between Otaki (south) and Foxton/Shannon (north).
What is Lake Horowhenua?: Lake Horowhenua is a freshwater lake 5 km west of Levin, with picnic spots, boat ramps and bird life. Water quality has been an issue for years; check current conditions before swimming.
What is the Levin Mall?: Levin Mall on Oxford Street is the main shopping centre, anchored by The Warehouse and a supermarket. It includes around 30 retailers, banks and the typical small-town mall mix.
How do I get from Wellington to Levin?: By car, around 85 minutes via SH1 off-peak. The Capital Connection train takes around 90 minutes from Wellington to Levin Station. Multiple daily bus services also connect.
What is the Horowhenua district known for?: Horowhenua is one of New Zealand's main vegetable-growing regions, with greenhouses and market gardens supplying a substantial share of national production. Levin is the district's main service town.

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Levin

Schools in zone for Levin

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

Waiopehu College
Secondary (Year 9-15) · roll 572 · decile 1

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Enter your address to check your school zone in Levin. 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 Levin that you may be able to enrol at under open enrolment or by application (outside your home zone).

Levin Teen Parent Unit
Teen Parent Unit · decile 2 · 0.6 km away
Levin East School
Contributing · roll 386 · decile 2 · 0.7 km away
St Joseph's School (Levin)
Full Primary · roll 186 · decile 2 · 1.0 km away
Horowhenua College
Secondary (Year 9-15) · roll 910 · decile 3 · 1.1 km away
Taitoko School
Full Primary · roll 240 · decile 1 · 1.1 km away
Levin North School
Contributing · roll 229 · decile 3 · 1.6 km away
Levin School
Contributing · roll 244 · decile 1 · 1.6 km away
Fairfield School (Levin)
Full Primary · roll 378 · decile 3 · 1.7 km away
Levin Intermediate
Intermediate · roll 279 · decile 2 · 1.9 km away
Ohau School
Full Primary · roll 147 · decile 5 · 4.9 km away

Explore Levin

Things to do(45)

Gun club

Water intake

Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby

Waiopehu Bush Reserve

Taikorea MX Park

Catherine Inger School Of Dance

Horowhenua Kapiti Rugby Union

Shape Shifters

24/7 Fitness Levin

Seppuku Muay Thai

Thompson House Park

Levin Badminton Club

Illusion Tricking

More Dance

Behind Bars Gym and Supplement Store

Levin Squash Raquets Club

Playford Park, Levin

Horowhenua Kapiti Cricket

Levin Bridge Club

Donald Duck Park

Levin Kyokushin Hard Knocks Karate

Donnelly Park

Levin Adventure Park

Levin College Old Boys RFC

Central Levin Bowling Club

Levin Gymnastics Club

Levin Racecourse

Levin Table Tennis Club

Work Place Fitness

Southern Tribes - Horowhenua

Happy Feet Dance Group

Levin Rifle Club Range

CrossFit Horowhenua

Showgrounds Events

Hinemoa Boxing Club

Papaitonga Scenic Reserve

Netball Horowhenua Association

24/7 fitness

Prime Performance Gym

Levin AFC

Shin Sen Dojo

Athletic Rugby Football Club

The Stable boxing and fitness - Levin

Levin Domain

GDC FightFitt

Parks & green spaces(9)

Waiopehu Bush Reserve

Taikorea MX Park

Thompson House Park

Playford Park, Levin

Donald Duck Park

Levin Adventure Park

Showgrounds Events

Papaitonga Scenic Reserve

Levin Domain

Healthcare(3)

Queen Street Surgery

Horowhenua Hospital

Month	High (°C)	Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm/day)	Sunshine (hrs/day)
☀️ Jan	21.61	14.52	4.29	11
☀️ Feb	20.29	13.99	5.94	10.55
🍂 Mar	18.25	11.13	5.72	9.64
🍂 Apr	17.51	10.85	5.67	7.9
🍂 May	15.04	8.64	8.55	7.21
❄️ Jun	13.61	7.57	3.27	6.73
❄️ Jul	12.58	6.35	5.38	6.49
❄️ Aug	12.2	6.02	9.78	7.61
🌸 Sep	14.27	7.9	7.47	9.01
🌸 Oct	15.48	8.95	7.48	10.11
🌸 Nov	17.22	10.65	5.75	10.62
☀️ Dec	19.55	13.39	4.89	10.4

Living in Levin

Is Levin a good place to live?

Map

Livability Breakdown

Property & Economics

Key Financial Indicators (NZD)

Nearby Suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Levin

Schools in zone for Levin

Waiopehu College

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Other nearby schools

Levin Teen Parent Unit

Levin East School

St Joseph's School (Levin)

Horowhenua College

Taitoko School

Levin North School

Levin School

Fairfield School (Levin)

Levin Intermediate

Ohau School

Explore Levin

🎯Things to do(45)

Gun club

Water intake

Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby

Waiopehu Bush Reserve

Taikorea MX Park

Catherine Inger School Of Dance

Horowhenua Kapiti Rugby Union

Shape Shifters

24/7 Fitness Levin

Seppuku Muay Thai

Thompson House Park

Levin Badminton Club

Illusion Tricking

More Dance

Behind Bars Gym and Supplement Store

Levin Squash Raquets Club

Playford Park, Levin

Horowhenua Kapiti Cricket

Levin Bridge Club

Donald Duck Park

Levin Kyokushin Hard Knocks Karate

Donnelly Park

Levin Adventure Park

Levin College Old Boys RFC

Central Levin Bowling Club

Levin Gymnastics Club

Levin Racecourse

Levin Table Tennis Club

Work Place Fitness

Southern Tribes - Horowhenua

Happy Feet Dance Group

Levin Rifle Club Range

CrossFit Horowhenua

Showgrounds Events

Hinemoa Boxing Club

Papaitonga Scenic Reserve

Netball Horowhenua Association

24/7 fitness

Prime Performance Gym

Levin AFC

Shin Sen Dojo

Athletic Rugby Football Club

The Stable boxing and fitness - Levin

Levin Domain

GDC FightFitt

🌳Parks & green spaces(9)

Waiopehu Bush Reserve

Taikorea MX Park

Thompson House Park

Playford Park, Levin

Donald Duck Park

Levin Adventure Park

Showgrounds Events

Papaitonga Scenic Reserve

Things to do(45)

Parks & green spaces(9)

Healthcare(3)

Places to eat & drink(79)