Resident Satisfaction Survey

Manawatū District Council regularly seeks feedback from residents to understand how satisfied they are with Council's performance, services and facilities.

An independent research company, Key Research, carries out the survey quarterly. The results help Council understand what is working well, identify areas for improvement and monitor performance over time.

Each year, the results are also compared with those of other councils across New Zealand who also use Key Research through a national benchmarking report.

Resident Satisfaction Survey Report 2025/26

Overall satisfaction

Overall satisfaction increased from 69% in 2024/25 to 75% in 2025/26.

How does Manawatū compare with other councils?

The 2025/26 benchmarking report compares Manawatū District Council with 22 other councils across New Zealand.

Some of the key results include:

• Overall Council performance: 75%, compared with the national average of 57%.
• Core services: 88%, compared with the national average of 71%, achieving the highest result among participating councils.
• Council reputation: 72%, compared with the national average of 55%.
• Engagement and consultation: 62%, compared with the national average of 50%.

MDC also achieved the highest satisfaction result among participating councils for outdoor spaces (94%) and the maintenance and quality of roads (67%).

What were residents most satisfied with?

The highest satisfaction results in 2025/26 were:

• Reliability of the water supply (96%)
• Treatment and disposal of sewage (96%)
• Reliability of the sewage system (95%)
• Parks, reserves and sportsgrounds (94%)

Where have we seen the greatest improvements?

Some of the largest increases in satisfaction between 2024/25 and 2025/26 were:

• Overall enquiry handling increased from 58% to 77%.
• Satisfaction with the resolution of enquires increased from 53% to 73%.
• Saisfaction with the time taken to resolve enquires increased from 56% to 75%.

Where are there opportunities for improvement?

While overall satisfaction has improved, residents have identified areas where further improvements could be made.

Some of the lowest satisfaction results in 2025/26 were:

• Ease of applying for Council funding for events and projects (42%)
• Satisfaction with community funding services (44%)
• Rates being fair and reasonable (45%)
• Easy to find out what Council funding is avaiable (47%)
• Overall value for money (48%)

Other areas highlighted through the survey include communication and engagement, road conditions, accessibility of footpaths and cycleways, and aspects of waste management.

Read the full reports

The full reports provide more detailed results, including changes in satisfaction over time, comparisons with other councils and comments from residents

Previous Reports